Shanghai private schools warned to focus more on official subjects, including ideology

The Shanghai government has tightened controls over what ­private schools must teach to local pupils from the primary to junior high level, warning they have to ­offer some domestic curriculum including political ideology.

The move comes as many parents increasingly choose a Western education for their children.

Last week, the city’s education commission met the heads of more than 20 private schools that cater to children aged six to 15.

Schools are banned from teaching international subjects that do not include the “basic curriculum” developed by the central authorities, according to minutes of the meeting circulated on the internet and confirmed by local education staff.

The law already requires schools to teach classes that ­include moral and political education, but many private schools have cancelled them as they shift towards international curriculums to lure more Chinese ­parents who have a global ­outlook.

The head of the international ­department at a leading private school in Shanghai who attended the meeting said the authority’s renewed emphasis prompted concern among parents who felt it was their right to decide how their children were educated.“Most private schools offering international curriculums combine both the official plan with the international programmes as ­required. But some have simply given up the former in recent years,” she said, requesting anonymity.