Beijing city says it will help people who lost jobs as result of China’s crackdown on private tutors to find work

The authorities in China’s capital said there were tens of thousands of posts ‘available’ for those leaving the sector and promised to set up special job fairs

The private tutoring industry has seen a wave of lay-offs after being hit with severe restrictions designed to ease the burden on children

Reading Time:3 minutes

Private tutoring companies face strict curbs on their business and after-school activities. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:01pm, 17 Aug 2021Updated: 7:01pm, 17 Aug 2021

Tens of thousands of jobs are “available” in Beijing for staff leaving the private tutoring industry after an unprecedentedly strict crackdown, the city authorities said on Tuesday.

The authorities have also said they will improve the education on offer at government sponsored-schools and help find work for those who lose their jobs as a result of the crackdown, which was intended to reduce the burden on children.

Beijing has vowed to “strictly govern” the after-school tutoring sector as part of a pilot scheme covering nine cities, which will mean no new tutoring institutions are approved in the capital.

President Xi Jinping has had private tutoring in his sights since 2018, and in March this year described the industry as a “stubborn malady”.

Last month the State Council, China’s cabinet, said extracurricular tutoring on subjects including maths, English and Chinese would be banned at weekends, public holidays and school holidays. After-school tutoring companies will also be forced to become non-profits and are banned from raising capital.

The industry, which employs more than 10 million people nationwide, has already been struggling with the impact of Covid-19 and it has seen increasing numbers of delayed salary payments, lay-offs and closures.