Key words: Increased child abuse, educational loopholes in preschools has public worried; Energy Policy' report outlines fueling China's future

Increased child abuse, educational loopholes in preschools has public worried  

Recently, cases of child abuse in kindergarten have been making its way to the public due to increased media exposure. Concerned parents and educators are questioning China's preschool education. Media outlets are asking why there are loopholes in the supervision and management of preschool education, calling for an increased role on the government to prevent child abuse.

Qilu Evening News based in Shandong Province speculated that current preschool education has been influenced by the commoditization of the country's educational system.

Currently, preschool education is not part of China's compulsory education and does not receive enough financial support from the government. Therefore, social investment is encouraged to support preschool education, to make up insufficient State-run institutes. Some kindergartens have to lower standards during the recruitment process, due to the need to control cost. This results in a lack of quality and consistency among preschool teachers.

The paper suggests that to avoid more cases of abuse, the focus must expand beyond improving the quality of teachers. Related department should be enforced, and a tightening of regulations, through legislation, is needed.

People's Daily offered two suggestions in dealing with the proliferation of child abuse in preschools. Firstly, there must be increased legal supervision. China already has related laws and regulations to protect the rights of students. However, because of poor implementation and supervision, student abuse still exists.

Secondly, love is a necessary component of all education, particularly for preschool students. An education rooted in emotional growth can cultivate children on how to love and have a sense of justice. This is the most important function of a preschool education. Teachers should educate children and use patience and love.

To punish the perpetrators is not enough. The core focus of the future development of the educational system is to cultivate the importance of love and respect, which requires the efforts of society at large, the paper added.

Energy Policy' report outlines fueling China's future

The State Council Information Office published the 2012 edition of white paper on the country's energy policy on October 24, which quickly sparked media analysis and discussion on the policies that will shape how China meets its future energy needs. 

The report touches on nine aspects of energy industry including strategic development, conservation and technology, as well as renewable energies and strengthening international cooperation.

Han Xiaoping, the CIO of china5e.com, commented on finance.cnr.cn that encouraging private investment in key energy industries is necessary for the sustainable development of China's economy.

"To guarantee the supply of fossil fuels and the sustainable development of clean energy, an increased diversification of investment, technology and human resources is needed,"said Han.

"Furthermore, getting more private enterprises involved in the energy industry will increase competition and optimize efficiency, ultimately lowering prices and boosting the nation's competitiveness, "he added.

Additionally, Han believes the key to the future of energy development is an adjustment of China's energy structure.

"This adjustment is necessary to change the economic structure, which will in turn aid in dealing with social problems. Therefore, we need to use more clean energy than fossil energy, and open up the market to diversify investment. This will in turn improve the environment and ensure sustainable economic development, " noted Han.

Shi Dan, vice director of National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), commented on CRI online that the white paper aims to introduce changes that address doubts from the international community concerning China's rapidly increasing energy demands.

"This report illustrates China's endeavor to perfect energy policies and let the rest of the world know that China's energy situation has already changed tremendously. We will place great emphasis on energy conservation, technological innovation and environmental protection, the main goal behind our new energy policies being the sustainable development of livelihood, society, and economy," said Shi.

"Based on the report, we can see that policy guidelines have become more comprehensive, and that the market will increasingly weigh heavily in the further development of energy in China," Shi added.