China creates thousands of free childcare centres to help parents cope with after-school tutoring crackdown
- In March, President Xi Jinping described off-campus training programmes as a ‘social problem’
- Some parents have said the move does not tackle the underlying issue of competition in China’s education system
Beijing Municipal Commission of Education announced it will provide services for students from first grade to fifth grade, including providing places for studying, opening up libraries, and sports activities during summer time holidays, in an official notice on WeChat last week.
Similar classes are being offered in several major cities across the country. In Shanghai, 543 childcare centres will be opened, with no more than 50 students per centre. The Shanghai government will also recruit more than 12,000 volunteers to help in these centres, and hold lectures on epidemic prevention, art and sports.
In Wuhan in Hubei province, community centres started enrolling students last week and opened on Monday on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to children of migrant workers and middle-to-low income workers.
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Well-trained dog supervises girl doing homework
The measures come after China announced a string of policies cracking down on the country’s booming after-school private tutoring.
