East China’s Jiangsu province will make further efforts to reduce the homework burden on primary and secondary school students, according to the Opinions on Regulating the Development of Off-Campus Training Institutions released Monday by the General Office of the Provincial Government.
Primary and secondary schools and in-service primary and secondary school teachers shall not organize or participate in the organization of off-campus training institutions, according to the Opinions.
Off-campus training institutions must obtain approval from the education administrative department to obtain a school license and a business license.
Without the approval of the education administrative department, no institution may provide tutoring or make-up training services related to the school's education curriculum or entrance examinations in the name of consultation and cultural communication for primary and secondary school students.
The training of the off-campus training institution shall not exceed the corresponding national curriculum standards. The training session shall end no later than 8:30 in the evening. Students shall not be enrolled in the compulsory education stage for full-time training except for the winter and summer vacations.
For financial and asset management, training fees with a time span of more than 3 months may not be charged at one time. Enrollment and examinations for private primary and secondary schools are prohibited, and joint enrollment between primary and secondary schools and off-campus training institutions is prohibited.
China has bolstered the oversight of institutions that provide off-campus academic training for students in a bid to reduce the burden for middle and primary school students and standardize the development of such institutions.
In October the Ministry of Education urged institutions that provide off-campus academic training for middle and primary school students to ensure that their teachers have corresponding qualifications.
Schools must also take measures to ensure teachers do not take part-time jobs at off-campus training institutions or host tutoring classes on their own.
A long-term oversight mechanism must be established to strengthen routine supervision of off-campus institutions. Local authorities are also urged to step up supervision and assessment.
