As schools gradually reopen across China, online classes are in less demand. But the reopenings may provide a new window of opportunity for Ed-tech firms. Lily Lyu has more.

Giving assignments, collecting and reviewing homework, dialogues between students and teachers, parents and teachers doing all of these tasks online has now become the norm in China. Dong Weichen is a high school senior and he got used to taking online classes every day during the pandemic. The convenience brought by smart-education tools also amazed him.

DONG WEICHEN Student "The teachers leave us homework in our class QQ group chat. When we finished it, we simply take a picture and send it in the chat group. The teacher can receive it in no time."

In the past few months, the country had moved teaching to online due to school closures amid the coronavirus outbreak. As the virus situation eases, schools are gradually reopening. Data from the Ministry of Education showed more than 100 million students in China have gone back to school. That's nearly 40% of the total. Online classes on such a scale and frequency is unlikely to be repeated. However, for Ed-Tech companies, now is also a beginning of their approach to smart education. For instance, smart education functions that raise efficiency in grading homework and school-home communications will remain popular even after students return.

HUANG CHANGFENG Deputy Product Director, Tencent QQ "During the pandemic, tens of millions of students used QQ to submit their homework every day. Now as more and more students get back to school, online classes will be less frequent, but the communications between school and home is still important. Sometimes, parents could miss a few school announcements posted in group chats. We've introduced QQ group announcement functions to deal with this. Also we will introduce homework grading functions, and even automatic grading. That will save the teachers a lot of time and students can know their grades sooner."

The market rewarded first movers during the pandemic. Many Ed-tech firms witnessed boosts in revenue during the first quarter. Analysts say they're likely to see a consolidation now but the trend of smart education will not be reversed.

HUANG CHANGFENG Deputy Product Director, Tencent QQ "What's important is to build a platform that promotes efficient communications among teachers, students and parents to understand their true needs and customize products. If our users are satisfied, we believe we can make some real difference in education."

LILY LYU "Among China's under-aged internet users, nearly 90% used the internet to study in 2019. That's according to the China Internet Network Information Center. In 2020, even with schools reopening, that trend is likely to continue. That's because the e-learning habits formed during the prime of the pandemic will continue to influence China's future education reforms. Lily Lyu, CGTN, Beijing."