China’s ban on private tutoring has forced major education companies to seek international markets.

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In July 2021, the Chinese government banned private tutoring after school for primary and secondary students to reduce academic workload and promote social equity.
Known as the double cut policy, it forced tutoring companies to register as nonprofits and limited the amount of homework teachers could give out.
However, with China’s hyper-competitive educational system, parents are still desperate to give their children the best chance of success in life. Thus, the ban has effectively driven the industry underground as parents pay high fees for private lessons.
It has also forced education companies to look for alternative sources of income, including turning to the international online education market.

“The ability to access quality programs from the mainland through social media could be an attractive option for both diaspora families and firms whose business model has been undermined,” said Professor Emeritus Anthony Welch, who specializes in national and international education. politics at the University of Sydney.

small children sitting in the classroom

Since the government imposed a ban on extracurricular activities for children under 16, many service providers have continued to operate in secret as demand from parents remains high. This kindergarten offers private lessons in the subjects of the school curriculum. Source: Supplied / Documentary

TAL Education Group is one of the Chinese off-campus tutoring companies whose shares have plummeted since the introduction of the double-cut policy, and the company said it sees significant potential in its study abroad business, Think Academy.

In Australia, Think Academy offers online math classes for students in grades 1-8 and communicates with parents via WeChat.

In a statement to SBS, the company said its business in Australia is still in its early stages and cannot provide information on what program is being taught to Australian students.

How big was the tutoring industry in China?

Private tutoring in China began in the early 1990s and quickly grew into a $180 billion to $425 billion industry, according to various estimates.
Professor Welch said that Chinese society has long been centered around a “test culture” where “a bad result dooms you to a very limited future.”
Chinese students face two important exams in their lives. The first, known as Zhongkao, takes place at the age of 15 and determines whether that student will go to a regular high school or a vocational school that teaches crafts.
Students attending regular high schools will take three years to prepare for the college entrance exam, known as the Gaokao. If their test scores are too low, they will not enter the university.
“As we know, Chinese children receive exceptional [test] results… but it comes at a cost,” said Professor Welch.
“Not only financial, but also emotional and psychological, children, their families, teachers. It’s a hell of a lot of pressure.”
Private tutoring companies have exploited the competitiveness of Chinese society for years to make big profits.

But when the double-cut policy was introduced, share prices for US-listed Chinese education companies plummeted and have yet to recover.

Share prices of Chinese private education companies after the ban on extracurricular activities

The chart shows how sharply the share prices of Chinese private education companies have fallen since the introduction of the double reduction policy in July 2021. Credit: SBS date line

Peer pressure is driving the tutoring sector in Australia According to Mohan Dhall, CEO of the Australian Association of Tutors, one in seven Australian children attend private tutoring at some point in their school life. He says that in areas around selective schools, that figure rises to one in two.

Sally (not her real name) was unhappy with the Mandarin lessons her son was offered at his kindergarten in Sydney. Having spoken to her son at home in her native language since infancy, she realized that his language abilities far exceeded those of the class.
She decided to look for offshore.
“I don’t think the language offerings in schools are evolving the way they are in Australia,” she said.
Sally moved to Australia from China and raised her children here. She wants them to be fluent in Mandarin so they can communicate with their grandparents and because “it’s part of their heritage.”

She has since enrolled both her sons, now aged 7 and 10, in online courses run by New Zealand-based WuKong, which offers math and language classes taught by Chinese teachers. She says that their classes are more advanced than those offered to her in Australia.

Associate Professor Christina Ho from the University of Technology Sydney has devoted most of her career to the study of Asian migrants and the Australian education system.
She says migrant families have been known to use tutoring to push their students to success, not just “catch up”. She says the relationship is expanding due to what she describes as “peer pressure.”
Associate Professor Christina Ho said this is a move more families are taking after the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potential of online distance learning.

“If everyone you know is using it, then you can’t be the only one not using it,” she said.

When tutoring makes learning difficult

While Associate Professor Ho says many families may choose to use native speakers to teach their children languages, using overseas tutors for other subjects like math can make learning difficult.
She says foreign tutors often teach subjects differently than in the Australian curriculum.

“I think a lot of students will probably struggle with having to sit in a classroom in Australia studying the Australian curriculum and then being told to do math differently, I think it might confuse some people,” he said. Associate Professor Ho.

Classroom teachers also have to teach in a classroom full of students who have studied material elsewhere.
“Sometimes teachers say it’s quite difficult to serve everyone in your class when so many kids go out and study with tutors and maybe they’re a year ahead of the other kids,” she said.
“That raises the question of where you should study this material.”
Mr Dhall believes the tutoring sector in Australia needs better regulation, but he doesn’t believe in job bans.

Instead, he says, the sector needs to be regulated through a licensing model that protects children and ensures that tutors meet Australian standards.