Students getting more time for sleep, meals

A move to start classes for primary school students later in the day in Zhejiang and Heilongjiang provinces has received a warm response from parents, teachers and young students.

The Zhejiang Department of Education issued a guideline on Friday that would allow primary schools to adjust the starting time for classes on their own, with first-and second-grade students beginning no earlier than 8:30 am.

The move is designed to ensure that students get ample sleep of at least 10 hours per night and enough time for breakfast. An education assessment in Zhejiang in 2016 showed that students who eat breakfast every day far outperform those who only eat breakfast irregularly.