China Renews Clampdown on Private Tutoring as Demand Persists Despite 5-Year Ban

The Chinese regime has launched a new round of inspections targeting private tutoring centers during the summer break, shutting down classes at a New Oriental Education campus in the central city of Zhengzhou, as families continue to seek extra academic instruction amid intense competition for school admissions.The campaign underscores a trend that has persisted since Beijing introduced its “double reduction” policy in 2021. While authorities have spent years dismantling the private tutoring industry, demand for after-school instruction remains strong.Videos circulating on Chinese social media in recent days show education officials ordering a New Oriental Education center in Zhengzhou to suspend operations immediately, clearing students from classrooms and requiring parents to pick up their children after inspectors concluded the site may have been conducting unauthorized academic tutoring. New Oriental Education is one of China’s leading providers of private academic tutoring.Authorities Probe Major Tutoring ProviderAccording to footage shared on Chinese social media WeChat, inspectors entered the teaching center in Zhengzhou and found a teacher explaining mathematical concepts, before asking which grade level the lesson targeted.Staff members told inspectors the facility was providing a “learning device supervision service” rather than conventional tutoring. They said each student used an artificial intelligence (AI) learning device while teachers only answered questions generated by the software.Officials said they would determine whether the activities constituted disguised offline academic tutoring, ordered the center to suspend classes immediately, and launched an investigation.A July 21 report on Chinese news portal Sina said inspectors from the Zhengzhou Municipal Education Bureau found some classrooms locked and their lights turned off when they arrived. After staff opened the rooms, authorities instructed the center to dismiss students and notify parents to collect them. Chinese media outlets later republished footage from the inspection.Financial Pressure on EducatorsThe Epoch Times spoke to Chinese educators who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal.A high school teacher in Zhengzhou said that Chinese teachers are facing declining incomes while living costs continue to rise.“Teachers’ incomes are getting lower, but their burdens are getting heavier,” he said. “They still have mortgages, car loans, and children’s education expenses.”He said many former tutoring teachers lost their livelihoods after Beijing’s clampdown on the industry, while some school teachers have sought part-time tutoring work to supplement their incomes.“Parents are willing to pay for additional [private] lessons, and teachers want to earn some extra income. That could benefit both sides,” he said. “But now even that is being restricted.”The teacher also said some schools complain that private tutoring competes with school-run programs, alleging that some schools also want to profit from after-school educational services.Broader State ControlA China-based observer who follows the private education industry, surnamed Bai, told The Epoch Times the latest inspections illustrate what he described as the underlying contradictions of Beijing’s “double reduction” policy.Bai said the communist regime is using the campaign not only to regulate tutoring but also to strengthen ideological control over students.“The regime is suppressing private tutoring institutions while seeking to keep both ideological education and pricing power firmly under the state-run education system,” he said.The latest inspections are part of a broader enforcement campaign launched earlier this year.In guidance issued on Feb. 3 before the Lunar New Year school break, the Zhengzhou Municipal Education Bureau said academic tutoring of any kind was prohibited during school vacations. It also warned against what it described as “hidden” forms of tutoring, including one-on-one instruction, privately organized tutoring groups, and educational camps, while encouraging parents to report suspected violations.On June 18, city officials held a meeting on regulating the tutoring industry, identifying “hidden and disguised” tutoring as a top enforcement priority. Officials instructed local governments to establish approved lists of tutoring providers and said administrative penalties would be entered into China’s national corporate credit database.The three-month campaign entered its intensive enforcement phase on July 1 and is scheduled to continue through Aug. 31.Beijing introduced the double reduction policy in 2021, forcing thousands of private tutoring companies to close and banning academic tutoring for primary and middle school students during weekends, holidays, and school vacations.Five years later, however, China’s highly competitive secondary school and university entrance examinations remain largely unchanged, with limited places available at top schools. As a result, demand for supplemental education has continued, prompting many tutoring businesses to reinvent themselves by offering child-care services, AI-assisted learning support, homework supervision, and other programs designed to comply with the regulations.Xue Xiaoguang contributed to this report.