After-school classes in focus

China will bolster oversight of institutions that provide off-campus academic training for primary and middle school students, according to a guideline published by the State Council General Office on Wednesday.

The move aims to reduce the burden for primary and middle school students and standardize the development of such institutions, the guideline said.

According to the guideline, institutions must be licensed by local education departments and obtain business certificates before they can conduct off-campus training.

Provincial education departments should set specific standards in coordination with other departments, ensuring that local extracurricular educational institutions give classes in fixed locations with stable teams of qualified teachers.

The guideline also requires institutions to inform local education departments of the details about after-school classes such as the content, schedules, and target students, as well as making the information public.

Certificates and licenses will be reviewed every year, according to the guideline, which requires local governments to publish lists on their websites of both the qualified institutions and those failing to meet the standards.

Institutions are required to come up with their curriculums in accordance with national standards, and they are banned from hiring teachers who have teaching duties at schools.

They are also urged to follow the relevant regulations when they hire foreign teachers.

They are only allowed to charge fees for a training period of less than three months. Education departments are also required to step up oversight of the fees with financial authorities.

Off-campus training institutions that fail to obtain the approval or violate relevant laws or regulations will be put on a blacklist, which will be included in the national credit information system.

The guideline also urges schools to improve the quality of education as well as services for students after school time, including measures to allow for a flexible time for students to leave the school and a ban on schools collaborating with off-campus institutions in its recruitment.