China tightens regulation over after-school institutions

BEIJING — The Ministry of Education said that 256,691 after-school institutions, or 94 percent of the 272,842 institutions that were found to have problems, have completed rectifications. A total of 401,050 after-school training institutions have been examined amid a national campaign targeting unlicensed operation and extracurricular programs that put students under too much pressure.

A number of after-school institutions were found to have taught courses that were too advanced and placed children under too much pressure, causing unnecessary competition among students.

China had about 180 million school-aged students in 2016, and more than 137 million students were taking part in extracurricular classes or off-campus training, with the market exceeding 800 billion yuan ($115 billion), according to a report conducted by the Chinese Society of Education.

The ministry said that an online management platform will soon be launched to tighten scrutiny of after-school training institutions. Education authorities nationwide will be able to blacklist poorly-managed institutions and accept public complaints about training programs via the platform.