Study burden on children must be eased

ON FRIDAY, a news conference for the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Wang Guoqing, its spokesman, said it is necessary to effectively reduce the schoolwork burden on students. Southern Metropolis Daily comments:

At the news conference, Wang quoted data saying that the State had issued "dozens of documents" to reduce the schoolwork burden of students from 1951 to 2017. However, the fact is that children in many places have increasingly heavier burdens. Data show that an average pupil in China spends 2.82 hours finishing homework assignments every day, which is about three times the global average.

Days before Wang made his remarks, the Ministry of Education and three other ministries jointly issued guidelines on the issue, which are described by media reports as "unprecedented". Compared with the past, the new guidelines have for the first time prohibited extracurricular training agencies from holding lessons ahead of the school schedule. They also prohibit primary and secondary school teachers from encouraging pupils to attend extracurricular courses.