Beijing: China has decided to ban the unauthorized collection of kindergarten fees in its latest bid to crack down on the excessively high costs of pre-school education.

"The move aims to promote scientific development of pre-school education, regulate kindergarten fee collection and protect the legitimate interests of both the students and the kindergarten," the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement.

Kindergartens are prohibited from collecting sponsorship, contribution fees, school building fees, compensation fees for educational costs or other fees from parents as a precondition to enrolment.

They are also forbidden to collect extra fees in the name of organizing interest groups, learning workshops, specialty training programmes or parent-student groups, according to an official statement.

Parents have complained about expensive fees charged by even public kindergarten as demand for preschool education has outpaced the development of kindergarten. IANS