After-school training institutions must follow rules: official

After-school training institutions across China should raise their awareness of regulations governing the industry, according to Xu Pan, an official with the Ministry of Education.

Xu noted that after-school training institutions should move away from the current focus on examinations without imposing excessive extracurricular burdens on students.

The institutions should abide by the rules related to charging and refunding tuition fees and are barred from charging tuition fees covering more than three months at a time, said Xu.

Xu also stressed after-school training institutions are prohibited from intervening in school enrollment and admission and are not allowed to organize school admission-related competitions or summer camps, which Xu regards as the "bottom line".

In addition, online training institutions must be registered with the authorities, Xu added.

Despite the progress already made in regulating after-school institutions, more efforts are required to meet the expectations of the public, to which China's education authorities have attached great importance, according to Xu.