Institutions face tighter scrutiny from authorities

Children play at an amusement park in Xianju County, Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Feb 2, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Local authorities have been told to crack down on non-academic tutoring institutions charging high prices for courses and asking parents to sign their children up for too many courses at one time, according to a recent notice.

Issued by the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation on Jan 30, the notice orders prompt action to be taken by local authorities to firmly handle behavior harmful to the public interest.

The notice stated that marketing by non-academic tutoring institutions had intensified during the winter vacation, and some institutions had deliberately caused anxiety and an increased financial burden for parents by selling many courses at higher prices.

Local authorities should introduce standard fees for non-academic tutoring and open channels to receive tipoffs from the public about violations, it said.

Unauthorized non-academic tutoring institutions should be closed immediately and local authorities must strengthen management of prepaid tuition accepted by institutions in order to prevent some companies just "taking the money and disappearing", the notice stated.

Authorities should also resolutely crack down on misconduct such as false and misleading advertising and marketing, and hold violators accountable, according to the notice.

The China Association for Non-Government Education has called on non-academic tutoring institutions not to raise fees as more parents sign their children up for courses that promote well-rounded development.

In a recent proposal with 68 nonacademic tutoring companies, the association appealed to reject needless expansion reliant on capital investment.

Such companies are encouraged to control business costs, limit prospects for returns on investment, and provide high quality services at affordable prices, according to the proposal.

It said they should also "adhere to the nonprofit nature of education", aim to play a complementary role in state education, not engage in exam-oriented tutoring, and promote students' healthy and well-rounded development.

The number of academic tutoring companies has fallen by more than 80 percent since the implementation of government regulations to reduce students' academic burden, according to the Ministry of Education.