Shanghai schools told to stick to schedule

Shanghai education authorities have asked primary schools not to teach pupils ahead of academic schedules.

The move is to stop the practice among some primary schools, which tighten academic requirements or complete the curriculum ahead of schedule.

According to Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, when entering school all pupils should be educated from the same basic level including characters, pronunciation and spelling. No advanced education is allowed.

The policy will be first piloted in primary schools in Shanghai's Huangpu and Jinshan districts. It will be expanded to the whole city in the fall semester.

Many preschool children have already taken some private extracurricular courses.

But this may not be good for children, and in some cases, it may cause some pupils to have negative attitude toward study, officials said.