(Yicai Global) Jan. 6 -- Beijing, Shanghai and a host of other Chinese cities have issued new price guidelines for after-school classes, reducing them by as much as 70 percent in some cases, as part of the Chinese government’s drive to bring the extra-curricular tutoring sector to heel.

The price of out-of-school classroom-based courses shall range from CNY40 (USD6.30) to CNY80 per class, regardless of the number of students, with an allowable markup of 10 percent, according to Beijing and Shanghai regulators. Online classes shall cost CNY20 per class. The new pricing will take effect from the spring semester this year.

The price of e-classes in southwestern Sichuan, central Henan, northeastern Shandong and central Hubei provinces has been set at CNY10 (USD1.50) per class. And classroom-based courses in the southwestern province of Yunnan now range between CNY10 and CNY45 per class.

The government-guided prices aim to promote educational inclusiveness, Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, told Yicai Global. Training institutions need to be given a reasonable range when setting prices, to avoid hidden markups.

Ledu Youke is charging CNY22 per class, and those who have been overcharged will get a refund, the Shanghai-based edtech firm said yesterday.

The price cuts could greatly affect profitability at Guangzhou Longwen Education Technology as it will be more difficult to break even, parent firm Dongguan Kingsun Optoelectronic said yesterday.

Last July, the Chinese government introduced a new policy dubbed ‘double reduction’ to cut the amount of time students spend on campus and to regulate the after-school tutoring sector more strictly.

The double reduction policy aims to correct the excessive investment in education, which can ease students’ learning burden, help reduce studying anxiety and allow family members to take on jobs, especially mothers, Wang Weitong, researcher at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, said earlier.

Editor: Kim Taylor