In order to encourage families to have more children, Beijing has launched a series of policies to reduce the cost of raising a child. It has banned private tutoring activities and cracked down on home purchases in good school districts. Prestigious private schools have also become targets.
On July 24, the State Council issued an opinion to scrutinize and regulate off-campus institutions including a suspension on approving new private tutoring institution applications and a requirement that existing agencies be converted into non-profit entities. It directed that all training institutions be prevented from being listed on the stock market for financing purposes and they were also banned from using foreign teaching materials.
On July 30, after the Central Committee held a meeting on carrying out the “three-child” policy, the Ministry of Education issued a notice stating that it will ban teachers from hosting paid supplementary lessons for middle school and elementary school students outside of school hours or from engaging in monetary or gift exchanges with parents.
The crackdown order that the provincial government is carrying out has turned private tutoring activities into an underground business. For example, Hebei Province has set up a dedicated tipping portal so that the public can report private tutoring activities. Guangdong Province has incorporated a crackdown effort as part of its “anti-gang crime” measures. Hubei Province placed the Office of Combating Pornography and Illegal Activities in charge of the crackdown on private tutoring agencies.
Meanwhile, shares of Chinese tutoring firms plummeted in both the Hong Kong and the U.S. stock markets. Between the top three off-campus education and training institutions, New Oriental, the Beijing Science and Technology Education Corporation and K12, they lost a total of approximately 128.7 billion yuan (approximately US$19.85 billion) in market value during the two trading days of July 23rd and 26th.
Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia, July 30, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ac-07302021070407.html
2. Epoch Times, July 30, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/7/30/n13128035.htm