China will exempt students from childcare and education fees in their final preschool year at public kindergartens starting from the upcoming autumn semester, according to a guideline issued on Tuesday.

The guideline, issued by the general office of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said the amount is based on the government-approved fee standard for public kindergartens and does not cover meals, boarding and other miscellaneous fees.

For eligible children at private kindergartens, the fees will be reduced by an amount equivalent to comparable local public kindergartens. Private kindergartens may still charge families the difference if their fees exceed this waiver level, the guideline said.

The government will provide subsidies to kindergartens to cover the shortfall in revenue resulting from the fee waivers. Subsidy amounts will be determined based on the number of children benefiting and the local kindergarten fee levels, it said.

Local authorities should make timely allocation of funds for the fee waiver to ensure the normal operation of kindergartens. Teachers’ salary should not be in arrears due to the policy, the guideline said.

The country had 253,300 kindergartens, 35.84 million kindergarten pupils and 2.83 million teachers by the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Education. Preschool education generally spans three years in the country for children aged 3 to 6.