https://www.scmp.com/rss/330938/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A video of a student being brutally beaten by a teacher in China has gone viral, sparking a heated debate about child safety in schools. On May 10, a ninth-grade student surnamed Liu from a secondary school in Zhaotong, Yunnan province, southwestern China, was filmed being beaten by a teacher surnamed Ma after dozing off in class. In the video, the teacher first shook Liu by grabbing his hair before dragging him from his seat and pushing him to the floor. Ma then kicked him before dragging the... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3178996/graphic-video-teacher-violently-beating-student?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3178996/graphic-video-teacher-violently-beating-student?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 May 2022 01:00:25 +0000 World-class universities attract investment which can help diversify the economy and ensure future growth. China learned this early on and even charted its own rise by establishing an international university ranking agency, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU). In 2016, two Chinese universities made the top 200 of the Times Higher Education rankings. There were seven in the top 200 of the same ranking in 2021, with Tsinghua University and Peking University in the top 25. Last... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178704/why-some-chinese-universities-are-opting-out-global-rankings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178704/why-some-chinese-universities-are-opting-out-global-rankings?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 May 2022 22:45:20 +0000 The vast majority of Chinese people who take the annual gaokao university entrance exam are teenagers on the verge of starting their journey into adulthood. But 55-year-old Liang Shi will be taking the exam for the 26th time, hoping to score high enough to get admitted to Sichuan University, his dream school. Liang, who owns a building materials company in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, has been taking the gaokao, China’s one-size-fits-all university entrance... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3177469/exam-uncle-55-year-old-man-plans-take-chinas-gaokao-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3177469/exam-uncle-55-year-old-man-plans-take-chinas-gaokao-university?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 May 2022 01:00:19 +0000 A Chinese mathematical genius nicknamed “God Wei” showcased his extraordinary talent when he solved a vexing problem in one night that had stumped a team of six PhD mathematicians for four months. According to online screenshots posted on May 6, the doctorate mathematicians had been struggling to build a mathematics model for months and called Wei Dongyi, a 30-year-old assistant mathematics professor at Peking University in Beijing, for help. The team adjusted their experiment according to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3177144/chinese-god-wei-mathematical-genius?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3177144/chinese-god-wei-mathematical-genius?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 May 2022 08:00:28 +0000 Primary and secondary school students in China will be expected to cook simple dishes like scrambled eggs and learn how to clean under a shake-up of the country’s education system from September. The new curriculum for domestic labour was released by the Chinese Ministry of Education late last month and is already an online sensation among students, who are often stereotyped as only focused on academic studies. Chinese students have long had a reputation for lacking independence and the ability... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3176793/chinas-students-learn-how-cook-clean-and-raise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3176793/chinas-students-learn-how-cook-clean-and-raise?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 May 2022 11:00:25 +0000 A preschool teacher in north China leaned into his class’s fascination with the Japanese superhero Ultraman by dressing up as the character to “defend the children from monsters”. The video of the teacher from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, surnamed Yang, went viral in China, with people calling him a “dream maker”. Yang, who is in his twenties, teaches three-to-four-year-old children in Ordos city and, according to him, there are more boys than girls in his class and all of the boys are... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3175429/dream-maker-preschool-teacher-china-convinces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3175429/dream-maker-preschool-teacher-china-convinces?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Apr 2022 10:00:20 +0000 International schools across China may not survive the loss of teachers resulting from lockdowns and strict Covid-19 measures that are driving away foreign talent, according to the head of the British Chamber of Commerce (BritCham) in China. “It could just wipe out international schools, and it’s not just the schools, per se. It’s about the ecosystem,” said Steven Lynch, managing director at BritCham in China. His warning came as survey results released by BritCham this week showed that a high... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175075/chinas-international-schools-face-dire-fate-if-zero-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3175075/chinas-international-schools-face-dire-fate-if-zero-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:30:19 +0000 A father-daughter art project in which the two built remarkable clay replicas of 3,000-year-old bronze artefacts from Sanxingdui in southwest China drew over three million views on Weibo since it was published on Sunday. The pair made two replicas, one of a beautifully designed ding – a vessel similar to a cauldron – and a copy of one of the masks that have become famous worldwide. The two used cardboard to build the structure and then added clay and paint for the details. The artefacts... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3174660/replicating-past-father-daughters-school-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3174660/replicating-past-father-daughters-school-project?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Apr 2022 01:00:13 +0000 In early March, a family was seen standing in front of a kindergarten in eastern China with a banner that read, “give us the truth, and justice for our child”. They were protesting because they wanted to find out the truth behind the death of a five-year-old boy named Zhao, who died unexpectedly during his kindergarten lunch break on March 2 in Anhui province in eastern China. The boy’s mother, surnamed Liu, who was holding a portrait of her son, believed the true cause of Zhao’s death had been... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3172793/give-us-truth-family-protests-outside?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3172793/give-us-truth-family-protests-outside?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Apr 2022 01:00:21 +0000 China’s wealthy continue to show trust in Western education in the post-pandemic era, but more expect their children to return on completion of overseas study, according to a new report on international education. While wealthy Chinese families value a Western education for qualities such as “independent thinking”, they see a brighter future for their children in their home country, the White Paper on 2021 International Education in China that was released on Tuesday suggested. The report,... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3171476/chinas-wealthy-still-value-western-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3171476/chinas-wealthy-still-value-western-education?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Mar 2022 04:00:23 +0000 Cheng Linggeng used to fear the grim and uncertain job market he was entering, as the prospect of finding employment as a young person seemed increasingly daunting. He knows that a record 10.76 million college students are poised to graduate in China this year, further intensifying the already fierce competition resulting from an economic downturn amid the pandemic. He is also aware of volatile regulatory changes that led to crackdowns and slumps in the private tutoring industry, tech field and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168926/chinas-young-jobseekers-confront-challenges-seek-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168926/chinas-young-jobseekers-confront-challenges-seek-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:15:36 +0000 University students in China are just as eager to learn more about death as sex, according to a new study by Chinese researchers. More than 56 per cent of students surveyed said they needed death education, the same proportion as sought sexual education, according to a study of 262 students from five universities in Beijing. Death is a taboo in Chinese culture. Bringing up the topic is regarded as inappropriate or rude in most circumstances. “While you don’t yet understand life, how can you... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3168720/amid-pandemic-and-unrest-chinese-university-students-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3168720/amid-pandemic-and-unrest-chinese-university-students-are?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Feb 2022 23:00:16 +0000 A teenage student has accused a private boarding school of shaming and abusing students, excessive testing and treating students like “test machines”, prompting local authorities to investigate. An official from Taocheng District Education Bureau of Hengshui, Hebei province in northern China, said they are investigating the Taocheng Middle School after a lengthy article by a student at the school went viral last week, news portal eastday.com reported. The student, whose gender or age is not... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3167577/chinese-authorities-investigate-private-boarding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3167577/chinese-authorities-investigate-private-boarding?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Feb 2022 01:00:13 +0000 China has revealed expanded plans to lift its universities to world-class level and nurture a wide range of disciplines as part of its push to create a higher education sector to support the country’s economic development. The plan issued on Monday listed 147 universities and more than 300 of their disciplines, from science and engineering to social sciences, that it said should be developed to become “first-class”. It is meant to catapult more Chinese universities and disciplines to the top by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3167015/universities-and-disciplines-china-aims-turn-world-beaters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3167015/universities-and-disciplines-china-aims-turn-world-beaters?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 22:00:22 +0000 As China’s culture of various aspects becomes increasingly competitive, children’s education is a top priority for many families. Worried Chinese parents are enrolling themselves in various communication boot camps on parent-child relationship to learn how to interact with and teach their children better. Ming Xu, 42, mother of three children, aged 3 to 10, felt concerned and perplexed after her second child’s kindergarten teacher warned her that her son, then five years old, easily lost his... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3166513/china-education-amid-coronavirus-and-tutor-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3166513/china-education-amid-coronavirus-and-tutor-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2022 10:00:22 +0000 A prominent mathematician has compared his field of study to football, drawing on Vietnam’s 3-1 defeat of China in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier to urge his Chinese peers to tackle greater challenges. The result by the national soccer team on Tuesday sparked criticism from Chinese media and fans, with many attributing the loss to the players’ attitudes. The Sports account of state newspaper People’s Daily quickly expressed disappointment on Weibo. “The national team has lost a match that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3165870/find-courage-and-learn-chinas-football-team-loss-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3165870/find-courage-and-learn-chinas-football-team-loss-top?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 18:00:22 +0000 Petite but commanding, China’s former world champion gymnast Sui Lu stood among a sea of yoga mats doling out encouragement to her students as they bent their torsos towards their outstretched legs. Sui was four years old when she was picked out by China’s state sports machine and began training as an elite athlete. She became world champion on the balance beam in 2011 and won silver at the London Olympics the following year. But the pupils taking instruction from her in the bright, airy room in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3163792/chinas-champion-athletes-help-schools-promote-fitness-not-endless-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3163792/chinas-champion-athletes-help-schools-promote-fitness-not-endless-study?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 07:04:32 +0000 Amid the pandemic and geopolitical tensions with the West over the past two years, members of China’s middle class found themselves increasingly compelled to postpone plans to emigrate overseas, while others refrained from sending their children abroad to study. But as a growing number of international schools in China have announced in recent months that they were shutting down or were accepting only foreign students in the wake of a nationwide crackdown on education, obtaining a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3163704/chinas-education-crackdown-forces-anxious-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3163704/chinas-education-crackdown-forces-anxious-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jan 2022 22:00:20 +0000 1. Will Joe Biden’s US$1.9 trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’ be a boon for China, or could excessive liquidity lead to financial trouble? (Orange Wang and Amanda Lee – January 15, 2021) Latest US coronavirus stimulus package would put even more liquidity into global economy, and much could end up in China, where investment returns are promising Analysts say US president-elect’s proposal could further boost Chinese exports, but they also warn of hot money inflows creating dangerous asset... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161708/best-2021-joe-biden-china-australia-relations-dominate-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161708/best-2021-joe-biden-china-australia-relations-dominate-most?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:30:11 +0000 At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Park Kyung-su, a 22-year-old student at China’s Zhejiang University, was considering finishing off her remaining three years of school from her home in South Korea – completely online. Under this plan, Park would have been able to earn her degree without ever having to return to China, where she had only spent a single semester physically at school. In December 2019, she returned home to South Korea from Hangzhou for her first winter break, but the rapid... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3159554/chinas-south-korean-students-gradually-return-campus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3159554/chinas-south-korean-students-gradually-return-campus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Dec 2021 21:30:23 +0000 China has missed its goals in saving the younger generation from overweight, shortsightedness and emotional and behavioural problems despite efforts to ease students’ burden in the past decade, according to a study by a government-backed research institute. The rates of Chinese schoolchildren with obesity, myopia and tooth decay all continued to rise over the past decade, with a government plan for the same period to reverse these trends failing to meet its targets, said a report on children’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3159217/china-health-rising-rates-childhood-obesity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3159217/china-health-rising-rates-childhood-obesity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2021 10:30:15 +0000 International schools in China are under increasing pressure to adopt state-approved curricula, forcing some to withdraw from the country altogether and stoking unease among middle-class families who want their children exposed to Western education. Last week, Harrow International School in Hainan, a prestigious British private institution, notified parents that students must be taught a Chinese curriculum from grade one to grade nine, and junior high school students must pass a state-run test... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3158333/chinas-middle-class-families-fret-president-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3158333/chinas-middle-class-families-fret-president-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Dec 2021 04:00:20 +0000 Faisal Hisyam Muhammad had nothing but superlatives for China. He liked the culture. He always wanted to learn Mandarin. He loved how Shanghai developed into the megalopolis it is today. “I’ve been to China before, and I just fell in love with it,” the 24-year-old said. He was excited to have received an offer in 2019 to study in a master’s programme in marine science at the prestigious Tongji University in Shanghai. After spending his first six months honing his Chinese and flying home to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3158455/international-university-students-wait-china-remains-closed-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3158455/international-university-students-wait-china-remains-closed-them?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Dec 2021 11:00:21 +0000 Primary and middle school children in China are to be targeted in new campaigns to nurture patriotism and love for the Communist Party. President Xi Jinping recently told a meeting of a policy implementation group known as the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission that the party should take on a greater leadership role in schools to ensure “political criteria and requirements” are met. Chinese Communist Party resolution cements Xi Jinping’s leadership According to state news... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3158392/china-targets-primary-schools-drive-instill-love-communist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3158392/china-targets-primary-schools-drive-instill-love-communist?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Dec 2021 03:30:26 +0000 Authorities in central China detained two bosses of a catering company and are investigating four government officials after dozens of students were hospitalised after eating a school lunch last week. The incident increased scrutiny on the caterer, the Henan branch of Beijing Zhihong Catering Company, and officials discovered it did not have a required food business licence. Two officials from the local education authority and two from the market supervision authority are under... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3158052/investigation-china-after-dozens-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3158052/investigation-china-after-dozens-students?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Dec 2021 01:00:21 +0000 In the depths of the mountains in southwestern China, one teacher is educating the next generation while being inspirational proof that no obstacle is too much to overcome. Jiang Shengfa, who lost his arms in an accident 25 years ago, has been teaching poverty-stricken children for 18 years by tying chalk to one of his arm stumps and flipping books with his mouth. Besides overcoming the disability, Jiang, 47, walks 8km to work every day and earns a meagre monthly salary of 1,500 yuan (US$235).... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3157829/armless-teacher-inspiring-next-generation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3157829/armless-teacher-inspiring-next-generation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2021 06:00:23 +0000 Having lived in Asia for a decade as a freelance journalist, US citizen Erin Hale realised that it would be imperative to learn Chinese to get where she wanted to be in life. She had spent much of 2019 simultaneously reporting on Hong Kong’s anti-extradition protests and looked for avenues to begin learning Mandarin – all of this done in her native language English. “I started realising that [living in Hong Kong] was not going to work and that a lot of job applications ask for language skills,... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3157539/pandemic-and-politics-make-learning-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3157539/pandemic-and-politics-make-learning-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Nov 2021 10:00:25 +0000 As degrees from overseas universities lose their competitive edge in China, graduates returning for work are getting mixed signals from employers, with some concerned the job market favours candidates who obtained local qualifications, despite an enduring “West is best” mentality in certain parts of society. The total number of Chinese nationals studying overseas in 2019 was 703,500, according to the Ministry of Education. In the 2019-20 academic year, China sent more than 100,000 new university... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3157485/chinese-graduates-lament-western-degrees-no-longer-fast-track?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3157485/chinese-graduates-lament-western-degrees-no-longer-fast-track?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Nov 2021 06:00:20 +0000 Viewed at one level, the Chinese government’s crackdown on the country’s entrepreneurial elite seems to echo former chairman Mao Zedong’s call in the 1950s to “let a hundred flowers bloom” – and then chop off their heads. But it is probably more accurate to see Beijing’s strategy as being one of pre-emptive bubble bursting. High-flying tech and other entrepreneurs, whether they soar in the firmament of the United States or China, tend to generate stock market bubbles as big as their personas,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143319/tech-and-tuition-crackdown-why-china-doesnt-want-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143319/tech-and-tuition-crackdown-why-china-doesnt-want-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:30:10 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3140466/girls-outshine-boys-china-misyar-unions-and-high-heels-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3140466/girls-outshine-boys-china-misyar-unions-and-high-heels-history?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jul 2021 08:00:13 +0000 One of the more reckless gestures of the Donald Trump administration was its decision to restrict visas for Chinese academic visitors to the United States. We’re not talking here about allowing Chinese scholars access to US physics and computing labs that some fear might mean that the latest information about AI or rocket technology might find its way to Beijing by underhand means. Senior specialists on international relations, trade policy and Chinese politics had their multiple-entry visas... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3139396/restricting-academics-makes-it-harder-china-tell-its-own-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3139396/restricting-academics-makes-it-harder-china-tell-its-own-story?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jul 2021 01:30:19 +0000 China has arguably invested more than any other country in public diplomacy initiatives during the last two decades. There have been glitzy events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which grabbed headlines and showcased China’s development to the world. There has also been heavy investment in education, both externally through Confucius Institutes and internally through efforts to attract international students to China’s higher education sector. Turning China into a popular destination for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137484/how-chinas-treatment-international-students-hurts-its-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137484/how-chinas-treatment-international-students-hurts-its-public?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jun 2021 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3132624/unhappy-wives-real-housewife-using-her-fame-good-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3132624/unhappy-wives-real-housewife-using-her-fame-good-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 08:00:15 +0000 Daisy Gong was raised in a poor family in the small, remote mountainous village of Aganzhen, in Gansu province, northwest China. The eldest of three children, she grew up planting lily bulbs with her mother. She started school aged five, walking an hour each way. “When I started high school, my mother would give me 15 to 20 yuan to eat for the whole week. Sometimes she had to borrow the money,” says the 32-year-old by email. “People around me did not think girls should have too much... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3132455/non-profit-empowers-rural-chinese-women-through?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3132455/non-profit-empowers-rural-chinese-women-through?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 May 2021 07:23:51 +0000 A short video clip of nine women dancing during the anniversary celebration of a prestigious Chinese university over the weekend was panned for being “pornographic” and “vulgar”.  The short video features the women dancing while wearing golden dresses decorated with tassels during the 110th anniversary celebration at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s top schools. The women danced for about two minutes in front of the school’s iconic Grand Auditorium on Saturday while a marching band... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3131094/vulgar-and-pornographic-dance-celebrate-tsinghua-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3131094/vulgar-and-pornographic-dance-celebrate-tsinghua-university?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 08:00:20 +0000 In her first year as an entrepreneur, Jennifer Yu Cheng met a sixth-grader who was struggling with some subjects at school. As his admissions counsellor at Arch Education, a Hong Kong-based private institution helping pupils get admission into boarding schools in the United Kingdom and the United States that she co-founded, Yu guided him and the pupil ended up at a top-10 boarding school in the US. A month after his admission, the pupil sent Yu a Mother’s Day card – her first, as it came even... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3129337/how-mothers-day-card-driving-one-hong-kongs-richest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3129337/how-mothers-day-card-driving-one-hong-kongs-richest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:30:06 +0000 China’s hi-tech hub Shenzhen is considering introducing 12 years of free education by 2025, according to state media. If it goes ahead, Shenzhen will be one of a handful of mainland cities to offer free schooling for all children after neighbouring Zhuhai – which has a much smaller economy – was the first to do so in 2007. The city’s education bureau is assessing a proposal put forward by local legislators to extend free education to 12 years, local newspaper Shenzhen Special Zone Daily... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129558/shenzhen-considers-offering-12-years-free-education-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3129558/shenzhen-considers-offering-12-years-free-education-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Apr 2021 00:00:28 +0000 I refer to your report “China plans to put children off studying abroad as more pupils head overseas at younger ages” (February 17), and wish to share my perspective on the matter. After I started up an extracurricular educational institution in 2016, I found that many parents search for ways to send their children abroad to avoid the high pressure of the Chinese education system. The opportunity to develop personal and academic interests is also an incentive. But some Chinese schools... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3127937/improve-chinas-education-system-dont-stop-children-studying-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3127937/improve-chinas-education-system-dont-stop-children-studying-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Apr 2021 22:15:09 +0000 Once deemed the “most beautiful” teacher in her school, an educator in the eastern Chinese municipality Tianjin can no longer teach after discriminating against students based on the social status of their parents.  The teacher, surnamed Xiao, was reassigned after an audio recording emerged of her telling a student, “If I told you that the annual income of [the student] Zhao Ting’s mother is equal to what your mother earns in 50 years, do you think your qualities can be the same [as hers]? They... https://www.scmp.com/society/most-beautiful-teacher-goes-ugly-tirade/article/3124180?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/most-beautiful-teacher-goes-ugly-tirade/article/3124180?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Mar 2021 09:37:46 +0000 As China begins to overhaul how the country learns about sex in school, a flurry of new proposals suggests that educating children about sexual assault will be a top priority.  On Tuesday, two days ahead of the “two-sessions,” China’s all-important legislative meeting, several lawmaking deputies put forward proposals that would require all primary and middle schools to teach sexual assault deterrent classes. The proposals are follow-ups on a revision of a law protecting minors that will require... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-mandatory-sex-education-might-start-sexual-assault-prevention-course/article/3124093?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-mandatory-sex-education-might-start-sexual-assault-prevention-course/article/3124093?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Mar 2021 11:00:43 +0000 A Chinese provincial government's directive banning schools from giving homework to young students in the interests of a more balanced life has sparked controversy. Last week, a Department of Education in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province issued orders forbidding schools from giving written homework to students in grades one and two (around ages 6-8). It also banned schools from allowing students in grades three to six (ages 8-12) to do more than one hour a day of homework while, for... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-parents-give-poor-grades-no-homework-plan/article/3123921?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-parents-give-poor-grades-no-homework-plan/article/3123921?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Mar 2021 10:30:58 +0000 An education authority in China is facing a backlash over its efforts to limit the amount of homework given to young students. Shaanxi province’s Department of Education last week issued a directive that forbids schools from giving written homework to pupils in grades one and two (roughly ages 6-8) in the interests of their balanced development. The department also banned schools from assigning more than one hour a day of homework to pupils from grades three to six (ages 8-12), while students in... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3123612/homework-ban-chinese-pupils-sparks-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3123612/homework-ban-chinese-pupils-sparks-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:45:17 +0000 The Chinese government is getting tough on schools after a growing body of evidence shows students are severely sleep-deprived.  Education Minister Chen Baosheng said lack of sleep was taking a toll on China’s children, and the government would add sleep time in its annual appraisal of schools.  A 2019 study from the Chinese Sleep Research Society showed that 63% of Chinese children aged between 6 to 17 get less than eight hours of sleep a night due to the heavy burden of homework. The number... https://www.scmp.com/society/most-chinese-children-sleep-less-eight-hours-day/article/3121404?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/most-chinese-children-sleep-less-eight-hours-day/article/3121404?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Feb 2021 08:29:10 +0000 Chinese education officials plan to “cultivate masculinity” in young men by introducing more gym classes and adding more male teachers in schools.  But it’s a move that could have devastating consequences for Chinese society, say experts. On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Education told schools and local governments they would be required to implement physical fitness classes in schools while introducing new teaching methods that make boys more masculine.  The aim was to improve schoolboys’... https://www.scmp.com/society/china-wants-bring-machismo-back-schools/article/3120194?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/china-wants-bring-machismo-back-schools/article/3120194?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Feb 2021 10:59:46 +0000 A Chinese teacher is telling her students to embrace ugly fashion, and in doing so has found herself the subject of praise from parents who need help convincing their children to layer up in “tasteless” undergarments.  The warm-hearted” teacher, Cheng, from the Yuhua Experimental Middle School in Kaifeng, a city in the central Chinese province of Henan, made the instructional video after discovering that some of her students were not wearing long johns under their clothing during the sub-zero... https://www.scmp.com/society/teacher-warms-her-audience-tasteless-winter-dressing-tips/article/3114809?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/teacher-warms-her-audience-tasteless-winter-dressing-tips/article/3114809?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:39:56 +0000 International schools in China are riding a wave of popularity as cautious parents prioritize the safety of their children over education. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc globally – with many countries continuing restrictive lockdowns to stop the spread of the disease – and many students studying abroad forced to return home – Chinese parents are now seeking alternatives to sending them abroad for a western-style education.  “Parents always put their children’s safety as... https://www.scmp.com/childrens-safety-comes-first-why-chinas-parents-are-choosing-schools-close-home/article/3114517?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/childrens-safety-comes-first-why-chinas-parents-are-choosing-schools-close-home/article/3114517?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Dec 2020 10:39:42 +0000 China’s education department issued a new regulation on November 11 banning postgraduate tutors from having “improper” relations with students to prevent instances of exploitation.  Postgraduate tutors are often treated as guiding mentors, or even employers, by students who face immense pressure to achieve high marks in China’s notoriously high-pressure academic culture. The relationship dynamic has resulted in sexual misconduct or bullying from teachers, and in some cases resulted in the... https://www.scmp.com/education/chinas-guide-ending-abuse-students-college/article/3110163?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/education/chinas-guide-ending-abuse-students-college/article/3110163?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:06:26 +0000 China is to put greater emphasis on physical education in its high-school entrance exam in an effort to push schools and parents to ensure children get more exercise. It follows repeated warnings that Chinese children have high levels of obesity and poor eyesight, with physical education often neglected in China’s primary and middle schools in favor of academic subjects. Last month, the education ministry announced plans to give sports a higher weighting in the nation’s high-school entry exam,... https://www.scmp.com/education/china-has-plan-help-its-children-get-more-exercise/article/3109095?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/education/china-has-plan-help-its-children-get-more-exercise/article/3109095?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Nov 2020 11:22:22 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. A reminder of past humiliation Every Chinese schoolchild knows the story of the Old Summer Palace. The palace was built throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries and featured a beautiful staircase leading into the main entrance overlooking a lavish garden. Located on Beijing’s outskirts, it was the perfect retreat for... https://www.scmp.com/society/china-trend-china-debates-rebuilding-summer-palace-athletics-become-part-entrance-exams/article/3106224?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/china-trend-china-debates-rebuilding-summer-palace-athletics-become-part-entrance-exams/article/3106224?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2020 07:54:14 +0000 China’s new language policy for schools in Inner Mongolia sparked rare protests and class boycotts in the region as locals fear the rules will suffocate their culture. Some parents have been threatened with layoffs, fines, and their children’s expulsion from school if they refuse to send their kids back to school. https://www.scmp.com/china/mongolians-fear-loss-languages-china-pushes-mandarin/article/3101704?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/mongolians-fear-loss-languages-china-pushes-mandarin/article/3101704?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2020 09:36:23 +0000