China recently announced the ban on private tutoring in the country and faced protests by students and parents as various post-school exams are difficult to crack without personal classes or private tutoring.
Experts believe that there are certain reasons behind the ban as some analysts see it as an attempt to keep an eye on the private sector and strengthen the public schools. And having public schools only options for studies will make the students read, follow and think as the state wants, The Hong Kong Post reported on Wednesday.
The ban also seems to be an attempt to keep students away from foreign influences and under the control of public schools.
Though it is also said that the government wanted to reduce a part of the tremendous pressure Chinese children face as they prepare for an extremely competitive school and high school life.
There is a bizarre explanation circulating over the internet that Beijing could have announced that ban to relieve the financial burden from parents so they can focus on having more than one child.
China recently announced the three-child policy and has been attempting to encourage parents to have more children as the country's population is stagnant. But due to the financial burden, parents are also disinterested in having more than one child.
The sudden Chinese ban on private tutors has sent parents into a dilemma over their children's studies as the Gaokao examination - for admission to colleges - is extremely tough to crack and high school students aren't allowed to opt for private tutoring, reported The Hong Kong Post.
The ban led to protests and in several Chinese cities parents took to the streets against the decision but their complaints fell to deaf ears.
The private education sector reforms are contained in a law titled "Law on the Promotion of Private Education". It prohibits foreign ownership of private compulsory education and restricts the "profiteering" of private schools. Beijing also simultaneously introduced the policy called "dual alleviation" to ban "for-profit tutoring" or private tutoring, The Singapore Post said.
The private firms that teach school subjects have now been asked to be registered as non-profits. So, they can't gain capital from overseas investors or through public listings.
The existing companies have also been instructed to visit regulators and apply for licenses. There won't be approval of any new company applications.
According to The Hong Kong Post, last year, nearly 103.4 billion yuan (USD16 billion) were raised by online education companies from investors. The industry was valued at 257.3 billion yuan in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic that led to the closure of all schools encouraged private tutoring as millions of students went online for their studies.
The rich children would definitely go abroad for further studies but others will fail to get admission to local colleges if they do not have the competitive edge they believe private tutoring arms them with.
The Communist regime has informed the private schools that public schools are in a better position to give ideological overtones to education, like for instance teaching the principles of Xi Thought, according to The Singapore Post.
( With inputs from ANI )
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