NikkeiAsia |THE BIG STORY|”Leave them kids alone: Parents tire of China’s world-beating education system” “Cram schools and private tutoring curtailed to level the field and lower anxiety” by Marrian Zhou and CK Tan August 4, 2021 06:03 JST
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“Childhood for many Chinese children is an unending drumbeat of extracurricular classes that has become an expensive time management nightmare for parents and has put many off the idea of larger families.” “Chinese kids often have several classes after school and on weekends, from coding to chess.” “Few students are admitted into top universities in China.” In a sea change “China’s tougher-the-expected clampdown is aimed at connecting what President Xi Jinping has call a ‘chronic disease’ stemming from businesses’ pursuit of profit from parents who worry that their children might be left behind in the test-oriented education system.”
Summary offered by 2244
According to interviewed partents, In China today opting out of extra after school hours and weekend classes sets a student behind their peers. So it’s common at an early age for urban middle class and more affluent urban familes to have their children enrolled in private classes and or tutoring for “computer coding, chess, writing, basketball, soccer and calligraphy.” For parents this creates anxiety over what are known as “buxi ban” or cram schools. The financial impact on households is stressfull. Some go further suggesting that these expenses are discouraging parents from having more children.
Now the federal government has decided that “Some academic competition is a good thing but too much is a public liability” suggesting that “the current model may have gone too far.” So leaders have reacted to the cram schools by “requiring education companies to become nonprofits” instantly wiping out “$126 billion in market capitalization…” According to Ernan Cui (Gavekal Dragonomics) these actions dubbed “common prosperity” are reportedly about profit-seeking companie’s “tendency to exacerbate inequalities.” Others opine that Xi Jinping worries a rising educated class will eventually gain political power.
Why tinker with success?
As shown in the figure above, Mainland China leads in the “latest Program for International Student Assessment Test” scores and further many believe that China’s very economic emergence is directly linked to its past achievements in education. Lenora Chu (Author of “Little Soldiers: An American Boy, A Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve”) emphasizes that while there are no electives in Chinese High School, these students have mastered reading and math. By contrast, she comments that many of their American counterparts are “barely literate or numerate.” Personal interests rather than basic knowledge and skill can more readily come later in life according to Chu. She follows that “the Western model of education” has “a bit too much emphasis on creativity.”
Not really a meritocracy!
All the extra schooling is only accessible financially to children of middle class families or even more affluent families. Families are reportedly spending about 7% of [the] “household’s annual income” on these efforts and that can range from “8,000 to more than 20,000 yuan.” Reportedly, “78 % of families have paid at least $1,800 a year on after-school programs.”
Very Stressful
“Chinese adults refer to their childhoods as being a jiwa, or chicken baby, a kind of shorthand for the extremely stressful academic journey to [potentially] being admitted into a university.” Shanghai Consumer Council reported that “84% of...parents surveyed..were stressed” about the costs and “55.2% [found the costs] “very stressful.”
The Ban and The Reality
Some believe the government ban on extracurricular training will just drive these activities underground. These organizations may disguise their services by reshaping them or rebranding them knowing that parents will continue demanding access for their students. Those in the know emphasize it is the parents that are pushing the “nurture not nature“ narrative partly because they firmly believe that regular Chinese schools cannot meet their high standards. As it is schools in better neighborhoods have more regular school and after school resources. These neighborhoods are notably more successful in getting students admitted to the top universities.
While the government pushes for more equity, more respect for people of all professions and walks-of-life it is selective parents that believe in and foster a process that drives students to “be better than others.” Some professional educators and others weighing in believe that the “test-focused system” leaves students unaware of “where their passion lies [and causes them] to lack leadership skills and innovative thinking. Finally there is the reality that despite all the extra focus, the extra effort and the extra expense “not that many...students...[win] admission to top Chinese universities.”
Enough is Enough
The government has for years been trying to lessen this academic competition and is just now being very prescriptive dictating “that [regular] schools need to improve their after-school services and cannot give parents ‘homework’ in any format.” The new not-for-profit schools will seek to comply as well. Ultimately, it will be the middle class and not the wealthy class that will be hurt by the ban. The wealthy class will “not have a problem employing multiple private tutors.”
The government boasts that the Admission Tests are transparent and fair. For the truly gifted student that is probably true they naturally outperform all along. For the others that are just smart enough and just capable enough to serve in higher jobs the reality is that failing to prepare is preparing to fail in standardized tests. Ultimately passing the test is the gateway to top university training and a real chance of obtaining a top professional, corporate and governmental job in China.