China News Service, September 1. The State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on State Council policies on September 1.

Du Xixue, head of the Population and Family Department of the National Health Commission, introduced at the meeting that at present, childcare services are still in their infancy, and they have been impacted and affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Educational institutions mainly face the following three difficulties:

　　First, it is difficult to reduce costs.

More than 70% of the nursery institutions have been in operation for less than 3 years, most of them self-raised construction funds, and most of them belong to small and micro enterprises. The operating costs of nursery institutions are rigid expenses of “renting space” and “paying wages”, and they are increasing year by year. .

Under the impact of the epidemic, these rigid expenditures still exist even during the period of shutdown and production without income, and it is difficult to resolve them by relying on the nursery institutions themselves.

　　Second, it is difficult to stabilize enrollment.

Infants and young children under the age of three are the weakest group, and the time of enrolling in childcare is not fixed. After the outbreak of the epidemic, many families sent less or no childcare, and the rigid need for childcare services was suppressed.

At the same time, nursery institutions are often among the first batch of business entities required to suspend business when the epidemic occurs, and the deadline for resumption of work is also much later than other industries.

　　Third, it is difficult to deal with risks.

Nursery institutions are small in scale, and most of them are run by social forces. The epidemic has caused a large number of nursery institutions to withdraw from the market, highlighting the lack of effective emergency protection measures for nursery institutions in the face of risks such as major public health events.

During the epidemic, most operators suspended the pace of expanding their operations, and confidence in the development of the industry needs to be restored urgently.

　　Du Xixue said that in the early stage, in order to cope with the impact of the epidemic on the service industry, first of all, the state has generally implemented tax and fee reductions, rent reductions and exemptions for the service industry, and enterprises in difficulty have reduced social security rates, delayed payment of social security premiums, and loan support and other support measures. .

Nursery institutions have also enjoyed some inclusive relief and support measures in accordance with regulations.

Secondly, some localities are actively exploring the establishment of a financial support mechanism to support the development of the nursery industry through special subsidies, subsidies in lieu of awards, tax reductions and exemptions, household prices for water and electricity, and preferential financing.

Third, some childcare institutions themselves have also taken measures such as reducing the scale to deal with the impact of the epidemic.

The state, local governments, and industries have taken multiple measures to alleviate the difficulties faced by nursery institutions during the epidemic.

Finally, various policy support measures for childcare services need to be actively implemented by local and relevant departments, and there is still room to tap the strength and accuracy of policy support during the implementation process.

(Zhongxin Finance)