Nurses look after newborns at the No 1 People's Hospital in Xiangyangyang, Hubei province, on Tuesday. Local officials announced on Tuesday that GONG BO Weifang, Shandong province, will exempt senior middle school tuition fees for the third child in every family born after May 31, 2021, a move that encourages families to have more children.
The education fee exemption is one of a series of measures released by the city to boost the birthrate. There are subsidies for universal childcare services, house purchases and medical expenses for childbirth. The government is working on maternity leave and encouraging employers to explore flexible working schedules for female workers.
The measures have received mixed response from the public with some applauding the subsidies, while others say the tuition benefit is too little and too far off to make an impact.
Is it possible for a child to study in a senior middle school if he or she didn't pass the examination? One user mocked the platform Sina Weibo on Twitter.
The measures will create an environment that is more friendly to having more children. In the long run, these measures will be helpful in boosting the birthrate, said Xu Xiaolong, 46, who works at a State-owned enterprise in Weifang.
Weifang will give a monthly subsidy of 300 yuan $44 for childcare services for a second child and 400 yuan for a third child until the child turns 3. 90 percent of medical expenses for giving birth to a second child will be covered by medical insurance in Weifang, while 90 percent of the medical expenses for giving birth to a third child will be covered.
The Shandong province, with its population of over 100 million people, recorded its lowest birth rate since 1983, according to statistics released by the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics in 2022.
The province of Ontario has been increasing subsidies, education and nursery care services to encourage families to have more children.
In January, Jinan, capital of Shandong, announced that all families with a second or third child will receive a subsidy of 600 yuan per month per child until the child turns 3.
To boost the birthrate, authorities need to pay attention to the needs of families with only one child, rather than only provide subsidies for couples with two or three children, said Gao Ming, 35, a resident of Qingdao.
She said that young couples don't want to have a second child because they don't want to have a second child, even if Qingdao takes similar measures and that it depends on their experience of raising the first child.