Chaos of Private Training Services

China Youth Daily December 26, 2017

The bosses of two private education and training institutions in Beijing absconded in mid-December 2017, abandoning students who had paid training fees ranging from 10,000 yuan ($1,534) to 50,000 yuan ($7,670) but not yet completed their courses, according to reports by The Beijing News.

Due to lack of supervision, the burgeoning private education market has been plagued with problems such as false advertising, illegal operation, confusing pricing, and low teacher competence.

The market size of extracurricular education for primary and middle school students exceeds 800 billion yuan ($122 billion). Some 13.7 million students attend extracurricular classes. However, a lot of institutions which have no qualification to enter this market are running such classes.

Local education watchdogs have failed to effectively regulate the market due to shortage of related laws, undefined responsibilities and duties, and lack of legal enforcement power.

To regulate the private education and training market, the authorities need to draw up a refined top-level design. First, legislators must issue laws to clarify the nature, position, and management standards of this market. Second, a supervision system, which identifies the responsibilities of different government departments, should be established. Third, the market calls for self-discipline and supervision by an industry association through third-party professional assessment.