
Chinese provinces roll out specific measures targeting off-campus tutoring providers amid Beijing’s crackdown
- The provincial governments of Shaanxi and Guangdong have initiated specific regulations for the off-campus education market, following the State Council’s lead
- Local authorities in those two provinces said they will supervise how off-campus tutoring providers refund customers for unused courses
Off-campus tutoring providers in Shaanxi were directed to immediately stop offering K-12 – referring to kindergarten to 12th grade – training courses on subjects in the official school curriculum during the summer holiday, according to a statement published on the local government’s website on Wednesday. Shaanxi has set up a hotline to report violations.
In addition, the local government has launched a rectification campaign to investigate and punish those violating its specific regulations on this sector.
In Guangdong, the provincial government issued regulations that forbid off-campus tutoring providers from disclosing the personal information of students and parents, and prevent marketing of their services via phone calls and text messages, according to a statement on Monday.

Local authorities in those two provinces said they will supervise how those institutions refund customers for unused courses and handle any disputes during that process. Both provincial governments also vowed to help affected off-campus education institutions during this transition to “maintain social stability”.
Those moves have come amid a clampdown on a sector that was forecast to be worth 730 billion yuan (US$112.9 billion) this year, up from 400 billion yuan in 2020, according to estimates by the National Institute for Education Sciences, consultancy Oliver Wyman and TAL Education Group.
The State Council’s policy, which was formally released on July 24, indicated that companies operating education technology platforms, or services that provide online education, will no longer be allowed to raise capital through initial public offerings. Listed companies and overseas entities are also barred from investing, or acquiring stakes, in off-campus education firms that offer courses covering school curriculum.
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The Beijing-based company is also laying off around one-third of its employees, estimated to be more than 10,000 people, according to a report by Chinese daily newspaper 21st Century Business Herald.
The company “can’t do anything to change what is being changed externally”, Gaotu founder and chief executive Larry Chen Xiangdong, told 21st Century Business Herald. Chen also indicated that off-campus tutoring providers will have 70 per cent less time to schedule courses when they are banned from operating on the weekends and during holidays.
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“The pressure [to give children better education] is likely to become a major factor … in the country’s efforts to rectify the education sector,” said Chen Liteng, an analyst at private consultancy China E-Commerce Research Centre.
Still, Chen suggested that the affected off-campus education providers consider a change in their operations. He said vocational education, education information services and intelligent education hardware are some of the options available for them.
Additional reporting by Coco Feng.
