China vetoes exams for 6, 7 year olds to ease academic pressure

Beijing, Aug 30 (EFE).- China’s Education Ministry announced Monday it would ban children aged 6 and 7 from taking written exams to reduce the academic pressure students face.

The ministry published new guidelines as part of the “double reduction” policy launched in July to lessen tasks students must face in compulsory schooling and extracurricular activities.

In order to achieve a “more balanced” distribution of students, schools will also not be able to single out any school group as an “excellent group” for their academic performance, a common practice in Chinese public schools.

It also called on schools to implement the teaching plan and not alter it on the fly, and prohibited students from correcting their own homework.

To reduce competition among students, educational institutions may not change groups or seat students based on grades.

The ministry highlighted the problems facing Chinese students: 67 percent of them do not get enough sleep and 22 percent are in schools that do not meet minimum physical education requirements.

The government introduced important educational reforms in recent weeks such as the incorporation of President Xi Jinping’s political thought to school and university curricula and regulation restrictions on private education.

Beijing announced in July a ban on after-school training centers obtaining economic benefits by teaching classes on subjects considered core in China, and they will not be allowed to impart classes on holidays or weekends.

This decision caused falls in the stock market of companies in the Chinese education sector such as TAL Education or Gaotu, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. EFE

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