Legislators review draft decision on law on private education

BEIJING -- Legislators discussed a draft decision on amending the law on private education Tuesday.

A draft amendment to the law is up for a third reading at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, which proposes banning for-profit private schools from engaging in the 9-year compulsory education that covers the primary and junior high school phases.

The proposal is consistent with a stipulation in the Law on Compulsory Education, which says compulsory education is a free, charitable cause with national financial support, said legislator Wu Heng at Tuesday's panel discussion.

The compulsory education is a legal obligation of governments at various levels, said law professor Feng Liucai, who is also deputy head of Taizhou municipal education bureau in Jiangsu Province, in an interview.

If the law is revised, some for-profit private schools may choose to become non-profit, which means they will no longer charge the students and have their revenue reduced, according to legislator Wang Gang. The government should help and support them during their transformation, Wang said at the panel discussion.

Legislators agreed that the new draft defines clearly for-profit and non-profit private schools and specifies different supportive measures for them, which is expected to promote the healthy development of the private education cause.

They agreed that the draft is feasible and "mature," suggesting it be passed at the ongoing NPC session.