国内英语资讯:Anxious parents help Chinas tutoring companies thrive_时事

国内英语资讯:Anxious parents help Chinas tutoring companies thrive

ZHENGZHOU, Dec. 13 -- From 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., 12-year-old Zhao Di spent all of Saturday in a private tutoring center studying Chinese, math and English. It was the busiest, most exhausting day in his week.

Zhao studies at a private middle school in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province. In his class, almost everyone takes tutoring classes outside school on weekends.

For Chinese parents, private tutoring is not just a supplement to school classes, but a necessity.

In 2016, more than 130 million private tutoring courses were taken by primary and middle school students in China, said a report by the Chinese Society of Education.

More than 87 percent of Chinese parents consider private tutoring programs important for their children, according to the report.

In China, people believe that if their children can go to good schools, they can have a bright future. Many believe that parents' preference for prestigious schools has contributed to a boom in tutoring organizations.

Junior middle school entrance examinations are forbidden by the Chinese education authorities, but the policy has not been fully implemented, especially by some prestigious private schools.

Tests for top middle schools sometimes go far beyond the primary school curriculum, so students have no choice but to take extra classes outside school.

"In the second semester of the sixth grade, some students only attend two or three classes at public school. The rest of the time is spent at tutoring centers, which promise parents their children will be sent to prestigious schools," said Shi Meng, a senior executive of the Jinsha Primary School in Zhengzhou.