The purpose of the ban was to ease pressure on students. The Chinese word neijuan, literally “inward rolling,” describes pointless competition that grows ever more demanding without making anyone better off. Authorities believed that education was becoming like that, shackling students to their desks and draining their parents’ resources without actually making anyone smarter. Competition had long since reached the point of diminishing returns and was even doing more harm than good.
“The tutoring industry has proven resilient.”
The ban is still in place, but the tutoring industry has proven resilient. Tutoring has moved underground. Classes are smaller or one-on-one to avoid detection by authorities. Smaller classes are more expensive, with the price of sessions reportedly doubling in some cities. Why do parents pay these higher prices and students continue to submit to this grim slog? Because life outcomes in China are determined by high-stakes testing and by one high-stakes test in particular: the gaokao.
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The coauthor of this book on the gaokao says the best balance for his own kids would be to send them to Chinese schools until 7th grade and American schools after, to give them a solid foundation without stunting creativity. “Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses.