A recent notice from the Ministry of Education mandates that homeschooling is not a valid replacement for compulsory education. This is the first time the authority has explicitly called for an end to homeschooling, according to the Worker's Daily.

As of February 2016, about 6,000 students were being homeschooled in China, and about 50,000 parents planned to try the alternative education method, according to Wang Jiajia, an associate professor at Jiangsu University. Wang estimates that the number of children being homeschooled increased by about 30 percent between 2013 and 2017.

Homeschooling instruction is often carried out by parents or tutors. It takes a variety of forms, including small, traditional private schools and and mini schools.

According to a survey by the 21st Century Education Research Institute, 80 percent of parents of homeschooled children have received higher education. Most live in urban areas, with 58.21 percent residing in major cities. Twenty percent have lived overseas for at least six months, and over 50 percent have teaching experience.

“The parents do not agree with schools' ideas about education, and they also oppose their teaching methods. These are two main reasons why parents choose to homeschool their children,” Wang explained.

Of the parents surveyed, 87.31 percent said they felt satisfied with the results of homeschooling and 80.6 percent thought homeschooled children's social networking abilities were "very good" or "fairly good."

At present, there is no final conclusion on the legitimacy of homeschooling. The Compulsory Education Law stipulates that children above the age of 6 receive an education in schools. Article 14 of the law further stipulates that those who implement the compulsory education independently should seek approval from the nearest county education department. Thus, the provision still leaves some room for homeschooling.

It is worth noting that the ministry’s notice does not reference any legal means of stopping homeschooling in the case of parents who insist on it.