China’s ban on private tutoring may create a black market as demand for education services remains high

Industry insiders and parents say that demand will remain unabated for services to boost performance on highly competitive entrance exams

In Beijing, tutoring sessions are going for up to 3,000 yuan per hour, a little more than the country’s average monthly disposable income

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Chinese high school students study late for the annual 'Gaokao' or college entrance examinations in Handan, Hebei Province, China, in May 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:00pm, 29 Jul 2021Updated: 12:15pm, 5 Aug 2021

China’s ban on private tutoring for children has put an abrupt end to a once-bustling industry but may actually create a black market with significantly higher prices, according to industry insiders and parents.

Local authorities across the country have begun to enforce Beijing’s decision to ban off-campus classes and turn licensed institutions into non-profit organisations, but the pressure to perform on state exams, including high school and college entrance exams, will keep demand strong from the country’s middle-class families.

Mary Pan, the mother of a 10-year-old in the western city of Chengdu, enrolled her son in the last available maths tutoring class.

“Everybody else is still taking courses,” she said. “In the future, if the [state] rules are implemented but other families secretly hire private tutors, we will probably do the same.”

Even though one-on-one tutoring at home could cost 10 times more than institutional services, she said if other parents hire private tutors then she “had no other choice”.

Signs of a black market for tutoring are already visible in local Chinese media reports.

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