Parents spend a lot to enroll their children in the best schools
China enacts law to ease pressure on students
The new law requires parents to arrange time for their children to rest.
From the source
China has passed a law to reduce the "double pressure" of homework and off-site tutoring on children.
The official Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday that the new law, which has not been fully published, makes local governments responsible for ensuring that this double pressure is reduced, and requires parents to arrange time for their children to get reasonable rest and exercise, thus reducing stress. Avoid excessive use of the Internet.
The law will enter into force on the first of January next year.
China's education system requires students to take exams at an early age, culminating in the "scary" exam, the 18-year-old university entrance exam known as the gaokao, where a single score can determine a student's life path.
Many parents spend a fortune to enroll their children in the best schools or provide them with the best private lessons, which negatively affects their financial resources and the health of youngsters.
The government is also considering reducing pressure on parents as a way to encourage the Chinese to have more children as the country's population ages.
Beijing played a more assertive paternalistic role this year in tackling young people's addiction to online games, a form of "spiritual opium", and helping the government crack down on this "blind" worship of Internet celebrities.
On Monday, China's parliament said it would consider legislation to punish parents if their children showed "very bad behavior" or committed crimes.
In recent months, the Ministry of Education has set certain playing hours for minors, allowing them to play online for one hour on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.
It cut back on homework and banned after-school tutoring for core subjects during weekends and holidays, fearing the academic burden would be too heavy for overworked children.
Meanwhile, China urges young Chinese to be less "feminine" and more "manly."
In its "proposal to prevent the feminization of male adolescents" issued in December, the Education Ministry urged schools to promote on-campus sports, such as soccer.
Behind Beijing's crackdown on traditional family values lies the country's growing demographic crisis.
The latest census data released in May showed China's population growth had fallen to its lowest level in nearly 60 years, despite the repeal of the decades-old one-child policy several years ago.
The number of people of working and child-rearing age is declining.
There are fewer young people than there were 10 years ago, for example, and the reason appears to be a 31% drop in marriages from 2013 to 2019.
• The Ministry of Education has set certain playing hours for children, and has banned private lessons.
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