Rules push tutoring firms to plan better future

"Such companies can leverage their technological prowess in art, culture, technology, physical education and a slew of colorful after-school activities, which will be a great supplement to the country's compulsory school education," Yuan said.

Listed companies are also eyeing another million-dollar market－vocational or adult education. According to a report by market consultancy iResearch, China's vocational education market is expected to hit 19.19 billion yuan ($3.07 billion) this year, with the online vocational market growing 20 percent annually.

The iResearch report said COVID-19 has put online vocational education in the fast lane of development, which is likely to greatly accelerate overall online education development.

In July, TAL Education Group said it is also mulling vocational skill improvement training. It also launched a new brand of service called Qingzhou, which focuses on tutoring for postgraduate examinations and qualifying exams for students going overseas, including TOEFL and IELTS.

Gaotu Group launched a new version of its mobile app covering language training, college student examinations, finance, public examinations, teaching, studying abroad, certain types of vocational education services and a family education system class.

"It is a dark moment for us but it can also be a good moment. We must adjust to survive," said Chen Xiangdong, founder of Gaotu, in an internal letter at the end of July that also announced that some layoffs were inevitable.

According to a report released by Tencent Classroom, an online vocational education platform by tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, users paying for medical and healthcare classes have seen strong recent growth.

Architectural engineering, graphic design, practical English, medical and healthcare and artistic painting are among the top 10 most popular course categories.

Tencent CEO Pony Ma has called for accelerated efforts from experienced schoolteachers and training institutions to develop online classrooms to allow society to "vigorously develop online vocational education".

"The main goal is to help various groups to improve their business skills and increase employment opportunities, especially with the development of the industrial internet and the acceleration of digital transformation and upgrading of the overall economy," Ma said.

He said emerging technologies are accelerating the integration and innovation of different traditional industries, giving birth to a large number of emerging occupations.

"The country is seeing urgent demand for high-quality compound talent with strong practical ability and innovation ability, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, the industrial internet and other new jobs," Ma added.

The State Council earlier launched a document targeting reform of China's vocational education system, which strongly advocates the integration of industries and education by encouraging universities and enterprises to work together to deploy training plans.

Moreover, the reform also unveiled a pilot program, a "1+X "model utilizing academic and vocational skill level certificates to encourage students to acquire more skills while obtaining a diploma. Specifically, "1" symbolizes a strong foundation of knowledge via traditional degrees, and "X" stands for embracing the future, represented by vocational certificates.

Qu Yifan, head of the education and open economy research department at the University of International Business and Economics, said in an article published by the Economic Daily that current reform in the education sector needs social drivers.

More efforts should be made to actively encourage enterprises to invest funds and provide high-quality information products and services so as to realize diversified investment and coordinated advancement, Qu said.

"Also, more support should also be given to after-school tutoring platforms actively participating in the revitalization of rural areas by helping students and teachers develop information hardware," she added.