China punishes unlicensed after-school training businesses

China's education authority on Jan 16 made public its punishment for unlicensed after-school training program providers in provinces including Guangdong, Shanxi, and Sichuan.

Training service providers involved were suspended or shut down, according to a circular issued by the office of the education supervision commission of the State Council.

The move is to warn after-school training program providers about the consequences of business irregularities, it said.

The supervision commission also urged local authorities to impose tough punishments on training providers with irregularities and improve the long-term mechanism to regulate the private education market, the circular said.

Daily regulation should be intensified, said the circular, highlighting precautionary measures like tightening supervision of the course contents, teachers' qualifications and program rates.

Training service providers should be put on a blacklist or white list based on their operation so that students' parents can choose qualified institutions easily, it added.