China’s tutoring crackdown offers a cautionary tale for India’s exam-driven education system

Beijing’s crackdown on China’s private tutoring industry in 2021 sent shockwaves through the country’s education system, wiping out a $100 billion market overnight and reshaping how millions of families approached learning.

The so-called “Double Reduction” policy, introduced to ease academic pressure and reduce education inequality, forced all tutoring firms teaching core subjects to become non-profits and banned new licenses, foreign investment, and weekend or holiday classes.

The move devastated the industry. Within a year, nearly 95% of offline tutoring companies had shut down.

Education giants like New Oriental and TAL saw stock values collapse by over 80%, with New Oriental laying off 60,000 employees and pivoting to livestreaming farm product sales to survive.

But while the government claimed victory in reducing stress among students, many families faced new challenges.

With legal tutoring wiped out, an underground market emerged. Wealthier families hired private tutors disguised as “nannies,” while middle- and lower-income parents were left behind.

The policy’s goal of “Common Prosperity,” part of President Xi Jinping’s campaign to curb the “disorderly expansion of capital,” instead deepened inequality. As one parent told local media, “The pressure hasn’t gone away; it’s just gone underground.”

At the heart of the issue is the Gaokao, China’s fiercely competitive national college entrance exam. It remains the “single-plank bridge” determining a student’s entire future. Experts say that unless this system changes, no policy can truly relieve academic stress.

For India, the parallels are hard to miss. Cities like Kota mirror China’s pre-2021 landscape, where intense exam competition fuels a booming coaching industry. But instead of a sweeping ban, India appears to be taking a more measured route.

In 2024, the government introduced new rules to regulate coaching centers, prohibiting misleading advertisements and restricting enrollment of very young students.

The focus is on reform rather than eradication, a recognition that banning tutoring doesn’t remove demand.

The long-term answer, education experts say, lies in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes holistic learning, multiple career pathways, and reduced exam stress.

China’s experience stands as a stark warning. A blunt ban on tutoring may silence classrooms, but it cannot silence competition. India’s challenge is to reform education without repeating Beijing’s costly mistake.