Reductions in fees

Fees for tutoring courses offered by new nonprofit providers have also been significantly reduced after local governments introduced their own guidance fees for such services.

Beijing's Development and Reform Commission, the city's education commission and market regulation administration recently released guidance fees for academic tutoring courses for primary and middle school students in the capital, with prices ranging from 20 to 80 yuan per class per student, depending on the number of attendees.

The new fee standards will take effect on Feb 21, and tutoring courses for high school students must comply with them. The maximum prices that tutoring companies can charge will be capped at 10 percent above the guidance fees.

Shanghai authorities also issued guidance fees, equal to those in Beijing, for academic tutoring courses, and the city's new standard will be implemented on Feb 17.

The two cities have the highest guidance fees in the country, while the lowest are in Hainan province, where they have dipped to 7 yuan per session per student for offline classes with more than 35 students.

A notice issued in September by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education and the State Administration for Market Regulation ordered local governments to establish guidance fees for curriculum-based courses for primary and middle school students by the end of last year to reduce the burden of educational expenses on families.

The average salaries of people working at tutoring companies should not significantly exceed those of teachers at public schools, the notice said.