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“

I am doing it il-

legally. I must

sneak into stu-

dents’ homes on

weekends. I dare

not to tell anyone

about this.

”

ments of elite school admission are
getting higher,” Zhang says. Tutoring is only allowed on weekdays with a limited number of hours.
Private tutors are also badly affect-
ed by the policy. However, it is hard
for the government to monitor indi- cut. a good job,” Vickers adds.
vidual tutoring. Some private tutors “My friends who worked as private He believes that the “double reduc-
continue to coach students, although tutors lost their jobs as well. It’s the tion” policy will also have a negative
they will be punished by the Ministry policy from the ‘top’ (government), influence on the economy in general,
of Education of the People’s Republic we have no say,” he adds. especially for foreign investors.
of China if someone reported them. Edward Vickers, professor of the “It is also a signal for investors.
Liu Guodong, 28, has been work- Department of Education at Kyushu Now everyone wants to pull out. Just
ing in the education industry as a University believes that the “double like the ‘double reduction’ policy…
private tutor for four years. He has reduction” policy will not tackle root it happened overnight without any
become underemployed due to the problems. signs. Investing in China will face
“double reduction” policy. “Tutoring may happen in people’s some kinds of risks because certain
“I used to teach 40 hours per week. homes and can be paid in cash. The industries can be suddenly cracked
But now I can only teach three hours government won’t be able to track down,” Vickers says.
a week. And I am doing it illegally. I these consumptions. The mom might
must sneak into students’ homes on quit her job to coach their children at
weekends. I dare not to tell anyone home. That will bring even more fi-
about this,” he says. nancial pressure on this family,” Vick- Edited by Coco Zhang
The computer science major grad- ers explains. Sub-edited by Charlie Yip &
uate is now teaching one on one les- “The Chinese government is only Gloria Wei
sons with middle school students in dealing with the symptom but not the
Foshan, a city in Guangdong province. causes. The main reason for the prob-
Liu’s income dropped by 80 per lem is a sense of insecurity. The num-
cent after the government introduced ber of well-paid jobs is limited in the
the new policy to crack down on pri- Chinese economy. People are getting
vate tutoring. He cannot afford to pay so desperate hence they rely on their
his mortgage due to the massive pay child to go to a good university to find