This chapter discusses the differences in competitiveness for school placements between China and South Africa, with a focus on kindergartens. It explores the affordability and accessibility issues faced by lower-income families in South Africa, while discussing the consolidation and restructuring happening in kindergartens in China.
Kindergartens provide preschool children with the opportunity to socialize, receive education, and ease their ways into compulsory primary education. While parents and children's demand for kindergarten services continues to grow and upgrade, the distribution of such demand is constantly shifting. Recently, some places in China have started cutting the number of kindergartens or consolidating them. What is the likely consequence of such moves? On the show: Laiming, Niu Honglin & Brandon Yates