China’s top legislature will begin drafting a law on pre-school education to regulate the fast-growing sector that has drawn increasing public concern.

　　中国最高立法机构将开始起草一项有关学前教育的法律，以规范快速增长的教育行业。

　　The process will be initiated in the five years starting from 2018 within the term of the sitting Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), according to the NPC legislative agenda released this week.

　　根据本周公布的全国人大立法议程，从2018年起，在第十三届全国人民代表大会常务委员会的任期内，这一进程将在五年内启动。

　　"The need to draft such a law has become pressing," said Li Lihua, an NPC deputy familiar with the legislation. "It will address all sorts of problems facing the pre-school education sector at the moment."

　　熟悉这项立法的全国人大代表李丽华说:“起草这样一项法律的必要性已经变得非常紧迫。”“它将解决学前教育部门目前面临的各种问题。”

　　China has specific laws governing both mandatory and higher education, which cover elementary schools to universities of higher learning. The calls for a similar law for pre-school education have mounted in recent years as the sector has grown.

　　中国有管理义务教育和高等教育的具体法律，涵盖小学到高等院校。近年来，随着学前教育部门的发展，要求制定类似法律的呼声越来越高。

　　In 2017, there were nearly 255,000 kindergartens across the country, taking care of 46 million children. The numbers are set to rise as the authorities aim to raise the gross national kindergarten enrollment rate from 75 percent at present to 85 percent by 2020.

　　2017年，全国共有近25.5万家幼儿园，照顾了4600万儿童。随着政府计划到2020年将全国幼儿园入学率从目前的75%提高到85%，这一数字还将继续上升。

　　Education Minister Chen Baosheng admitted in March that pre-school education is facing a myriad of problems – from a shortage of quality teaching staff to safety loopholes, outdated teaching methods, and high costs.

　　今年3月，教育部部长陈宝生承认，学前教育面临着诸多问题——从师资短缺到安全漏洞、过时的教学方法和高昂的成本。

　　"It is the fastest growing sector but also the one with the weakest link," Chen said.

　　“这是增长最快的行业，但也是最薄弱环节，”陈宝生说。

　　The top legislature of China said it has been laying down the groundwork for the legislation since 2013. Lawmakers completed field studies in various provinces and came back with quality reports.

　　中国最高立法机构表示，自2013年以来，他们一直在为这项立法奠定基础。立法者完成了各省的实地研究，并带回了质量报告。

　　The Ministry of Education has called on local education departments to push for the legislation, which it says will define the duties of government departments and help them enforce stricter measures on kindergarten operators.

　　教育部呼吁地方教育部门推动这项立法。教育部表示，这项立法将明确政府部门的职责，并帮助他们对幼儿园经营者采取更严格的措施。