在全面改革中 - 中國取締牟利輔導教育

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China Bans For-Profit School Tutoring in Sweeping Overhaul

Bloomberg News

Sat., July 24, 2021, 7:29 a.m.

(Bloomberg) -- China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its $100 billion education tech sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public.

Beijing on Saturday published a plethora of regulations that together threaten to up-end the sector and jeopardize billions of dollars in foreign investment. Companies that teach school subjects can no longer accept overseas investment, which could include capital from the offshore registered entities of Chinese firms, according to a notice released by the State Council. Those now in violation of that rule must take steps to rectify the situation, the country’s most powerful administrative authority said, without elaborating.

In addition, listed firms will no longer be allowed to raise capital via stock markets to invest in businesses that teach classroom subjects. Outright acquisitions are forbidden. And all vacation and weekend tutoring related to the school syllabus is now off-limits.

The regulations threaten to obliterate the outsized growth that made stock market darlings of TAL Education Group, New Oriental Education & Technology Group and Gaotu Techedu Inc. They could also put the market largely out of reach of global investors. Education technology had emerged as one of the hottest investment plays in China in recent years, attracting billions from the likes of Tiger Global Management, Temasek Holdings Pte and SoftBank Group Corp.

The regulatory assault mirrors Beijing’s broader campaign against the growing heft of Chinese internet companies from Didi Global Inc. to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. It stems from a deeper backlash against the industry, as excessive tutoring torments youths, burdens parents with excessive fees and exacerbates inequalities in society.

The out-of-school education industry has been “severely hijacked by capital,” according to a separate article posted on the site of the Ministry of Education. “That broke the nature of education as welfare.”

Once regarded as a sure-fire way for aspiring children (and parents) to get ahead, after-school tutoring is now viewed as an impediment to one of Xi Jinping’s top priorities: boosting a declining birth rate.

It’s a stunning reversal of fortune for an industry that once boasted some of the fastest growth rates in the country. Alibaba, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. were among the big names that have invested in a sector that had been expected to generate 491 billion yuan ($76 billion) in revenue by 2024. Those lofty expectations groomed a generation of giant startups like Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang. Online education platforms attracted about 103 billion yuan of capital in 2020 alone, according to iResearch.

Devised and overseen by a dedicated branch set up just last month to regulate the industry, the rules unveiled Saturday were couched in general terms that could be applied broadly to common practices throughout the industry. The new regulations are focused on compulsory subjects, meaning critical material like math, science and history. Classes for art or music mostly would not fall under the new restrictions.

Among other things, they also ban the teaching of foreign curriculums, tighten scrutiny over the import of textbooks and forbid the hiring of foreign teachers outside of China -- a curb that could have severe consequences for startups like VIPKid that specialize in overseas tutors. The government also ordered local authorities to tighten approvals for companies providing training on extra-curriculum subjects.

New Regulations for China’s Education Sector:

Companies and institutions that teach the school curriculum must go non-profit. Such institutions cannot pursue IPOs, or take foreign capital. Listed companies will be prohibited from issuing stock or raising money in capital markets to invest in school-subject tutoring institutions, or acquiring their assets via stock or cash. Foreign firms are banned from acquiring or holding shares in school curriculum tutoring institutions, or using VIEs (variable interest entities) to do so. Those already in violation need to rectify the situation. All vacation and holiday curriculum tutoring is off-limits. Online tutoring and school-curriculum teaching for kids below six years of age is forbidden. Agencies cannot teach foreign curriculums or hire foreigners outside of China to teach

It’s ultimately unclear how the government clampdown will turn out -- many believe Beijing won’t seek to annihilate an industry that still plays an essential role in grooming its future workforce.

For now, many investors may choose to err on the side of caution. The government’s desire to assert control over the economy and one of its most valuable resources lies at the heart of recent regulatory clampdowns on online industries. Companies that operate as internet platforms have come increasingly under scrutiny because of the reams of data they collect, stirring government concern over issues of privacy and security.

Online tutoring agencies will also be forbidden from accepting pupils under the age of six. To make up for the shortfall, China will improve the quality of state-run online education services and make them free of charge, the State Council said.

“All regions can no longer approve new subject-based off-campus training institutions for students in the compulsory education stage, and existing subject-based training institutions are uniformly registered as non-profit institutions,” according to the State Council notice.

Translation

（彭博社）- 中國公佈了對其 1000 億美元教育科技行業的全面改革，禁止教授學校課程的公司赚得盈利、籌集資金或上市。

北京周六發布了大量法規，這些法規共同威脅覆沒該行業, 並危及數十億美元的外國投資。根據國務院發布的通知，教授學校科目的公司不能再接受海外投資，其中可能包括來自中國公司境外註冊實體的資金。國家最強大的行政當局表示，現在違反該規則的人必須採取措施糾正這種情況，但沒有說明細節。

此外，當局將不再允許上市公司通過股票市場籌集資金投資於教授課堂科目的企業。禁止直接收購。所有與學校教學大綱相關的假期和周末輔導現在都是禁止的。

這些規定可能會摧毀已經過大增長, 並已成為股票市場寵兒的企業: 好未來教育集團、新東方教育科技集團, 和高途集团 。這些規定也可能使市場在很大程度上遠離全球投資者。近年教育科技已成為中國最熱門的投資項目之一，吸引了來自老虎環球管理公司、淡馬錫控股私人有限公司和軟銀集團等數十億美元的投資。

監管攻勢反映了北京針對打從滴滴全球公司 至 阿里巴巴集團控股有限公司 等中國互聯網公司日益增長的影響力的一種更其廣泛行動。 它源於對該行業的更深層次的強烈反對，因為過度輔導折磨青少年，使父母負擔過高的費用, 並加劇社會不平等。

教育部網站上的另一篇文章稱，校外教育行業已“被資本嚴重脅持”。 “這打破了教育作為福利的本質。”

課後輔導曾一度被視為有抱負的孩子（和父母）必會取得成功之路。現在它被視為習近平達成首要任務之一的障礙：提升下降中的出生率。

對於這曾經擁有該國一些最快增長速度的行業來說，這是一次驚人的財富逆轉。阿里巴巴、騰訊控股有限公司 和字節跳動有限公司 是投資該行業的知名企業之一，該行業預計到 2024 年將產生 4,910 億元人民幣（760 億美元）的收入。由這些遠大目標, 培養出了像 “猿辅导” 及“作业帮”這樣的一代巨形初創公司。根據iResearch，僅在 2020 年，在線教育平台就吸引了約 1030 億元人民幣的資金。

週六公佈的規則是一般性的, 是由上個月剛剛成立的分支專門監管該行業的機構設計和監督，可以廣泛應用於整個行業的普遍做法。新規定側重於必修科目，即數學、科學和歷史等關鍵材料。藝術或音樂課程大多不受新限制的約束。

其他方面，他們還禁止教授外國課程，加強對教科書進口的審查，並禁止在中國境外聘請外國教師 - 這一限制可能會對像 VIPKid 這樣專門從事海外導師的初創公司造成嚴重後果。政府還命令地方當局收緊對提供課外科目培訓的公司的審批。

中國教育行業新規：

教授學校課程的公司和機構必須是非營利的。 這些機構不能進行首次公開募股，也不能吸收外資。 禁止上市公司在資本市場發行股票、募集資金投資於校本輔導機構，不得以股票、現金方式收購其資產。 禁止外國公司收購或持有學校課程輔導機構的股份，或利用 VIE（可變利益實體）這樣做。 已經違規的需要糾正。 所有假期和假期課程輔導都是禁止的。 禁止對六歲以下兒童進行在線輔導和學校課程教學。 機構不得教授外國課程或聘請中國境外的外國人任教。

目前尚不清楚政府的打壓結果會如何 - 許多人認為，北京不會試圖消滅一個在培養未來勞動力方面仍發揮重要作用的行業。

目前，許多投資者可能會選擇謹慎行事。 政府希望控制經濟, 其最寶貴的資源之一的核心, 是最近對在線行業進行監管打壓。 營運互聯網平台的公司, 因其收集大量數據而受到越來越多的審查，這激起了政府對隱私和安全問題的擔憂。

在線輔導機構也將被禁止接受六歲以下的學生。 國務院表示，為彌補這一不足，中國將提高國有在線教育服務的質量, 並使其成為免費。

根據國務院通知稱，“各地不再批准新設學科類校外培訓機構，用以培訓正在受義務教育階段的學生。現有學科類培訓機構必須統一註冊為非牟利機構”。

              So, in a non-democratic society such mainland China, policy decisions are top down. There is not much room for negotiation for those on the receiving end. This is in contrast with a democratic society where people have a say on legislation, and policy decision are basically bottom up. People are voters, they can influence the policy direction of the governing body. Top politicians are chosen by the voters at regular intervals and can be voted out of office if they become unpopular. In a democratic society, the power of the top leader is retrained by a 3-branch governmental system: the executive, legislative and judiciary. The system can provide a check and balance on the use of power.

Note: Giant startups like Yuanfudao (“猿辅导”) and Zuoyebang (“作业帮”) have been in the news in China a few months ago. Both companies were charged by the authorities for making false advertising and misleading marketing campaigns. This was reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong. For details please see: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3132937/beijing-slaps-edtech-unicorns-zuoyebang-yuanfudao-steep-fine-over