Parents can now play a healthier role

The Ministry of Education recently issued a draft version of the Ten Rules for Reducing the Workload of Elementary School Students. According to the new rules, children from kindergarten to third grade will no longer be given grades in percentages, to avoid rankings in a class, and homework will not be given for children in some lower grades. These rules have the potential to reduce children's workloads and the cutthroat competition children unfairly face at an early age.

Some people have argued that the children's workload will simply shift elsewhere, for instance, from schools to homes, from teachers to tutors in the local community. They predict that parents who fear their children will lag behind other children if they have less work will send their children to remedial classes or arrange private tutoring sessions.

Therefore the issue boils down to parents' understanding of education. And there we have much work to do. I would give the following advice to parents to make this workload-reduction policy a real opportunity for positive change.