China's Education Ministry has required educational institutions to rein in the practice of charging extra fees from kindergarten students, as it moves to bring under control the excessively high costs of preschool education.

In its recent work plan for the new semester which kicks off this month, the ministry asked schools and education authorities to abolish unauthorized charges and make items and standards of all fees public.

Schools and education authorities are forbidden to collect extra fees in the name of organizing interest groups, learning workshops, specialty training programs or parent-student groups, according to the work plan.

Chinese parents have complained about expensive fees charged by even public kindergartens as demand for preschool education has outpaced the development of kindergartens.

It was reported in 2010 that parents in major cities often stood in lines for days to get spots for their children.

In 2011, the central government budgeted 3 billion yuan (476 million U.S. dollars) for "supporting the development of rural preschool education in central and western regions and ethnic minority areas," according to the Ministry of Finance.

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