Zhejiang to ban school homework on electronic devices

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The educational department in east China's Zhejiang Province is planning to ban school homework through apps on electronic devices in a bid to reduce myopia rates.

The provincial educational department released a draft policy on the prevention of myopia among school students this week to draw public viewpoints.

Primary and middle school students will be banned from bringing electronic devices into the classroom without permission, it said. Teachers are allowed to use electronic devices for no more than 30 percent of teaching time and assign only paper homework in principle, it said.

The agency also orders to restrict school homework and increase the time for recess, sports and extra-curricular activities.

With the spate of measures, it aims to reduce the myopia rate among children and teenagers by 0.5 percentage points each year in the next five years to 2023.

It aims to reduce the myopia rates for primary school, junior high school and senior high school students to within 38 percent, 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

Increased school workloads and overuse of electronic devices are regarded as the leading causes of the worsening eyesight. Nowadays, teachers are using messaging apps to assign homework and assign more on apps on smart devices.

In response to a proposal by professional advisers, the Ministry of Education said it will not allow teachers to use WeChat or QQ messaging apps to assign homework and ask parents to grade students' homework.

In August, the ministry ordered only paper assignments in principle for primary and junior middle school students.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency