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Chinese parents are hanging on to after-school tutoring amid crackdown
- China’s crackdown on tutoring agencies has left parents concerned that their children will be left behind
- Experts say ‘group education anxiety’ will make the reforms a challenge on the ground
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For Wang Li, not her real name, the Chinese government crackdown on private tutoring was like watching an avalanche from a nearby mountain; her livelihood was not yet in danger, but she could see the force of change crashing through the industry.
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“I still tutor, but my cooperation with a bigger organisation basically went down the drain. Their investment was pulled. They were asking me about my classes one day, and the next day the entire department was laid off,” said the Beijing mother of a 10-year-old boy.
“I have never seen such a shocking moment in my entire career.”
On July 24, China’s State Council, the top administrative body, announced a new set of guidelines to “ease the burden of young students” for kids going through mandatory education, which covers all children younger than senior secondary school age.
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The new guidelines ordered local governments to stop approving new tutoring companies, force existing companies to become non-profit organisations, eliminate classes on weekends and holidays as well as ban tutoring companies from receiving foreign investment.
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