China is promoting online learning and tiger parents are loving it

16 Jan 2018

Top Chinese universities have jumped the online education bandwagon, effectively widening access to quality higher education to those living in even the farthest corners of the country.

Some 490 online courses have been launched that focus on common curriculum for undergraduate education and higher vocational education, professional basic courses, and professional core courses, according to Xinhua Net.

China’s Higher Education Department head revealed at a press conference that 70 percent of the courses will be offered by the country’s most prestigious universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Wuhan University.

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Online education is becoming increasingly popular in China since MOOC – massive open online courses – entered the republic in collaboration with global universities.

Domestic universities and higher educational institutions have set up more than 10 MOOC websites, covering over 3,200 courses, reported Xinhua Net.

Some 55 million college students or social learners have viewed the courses. Another 3,000 national-level excellent online courses will be produced by 2020.

However, there is a darker side to online education.

Moving resources and courses online will likely mean that the traditional tiger parenting seen in China can now extend way beyond the classroom into students own homes, reports South Morning China Post (SCMP).

China’s tiger moms (and dads) drive demand for online education – It will be the top skill for t https://t.co/aWdU8xpNts #ai

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Parents who pressure their children to achieve academic greatness can now pay for challenging online courses to propel their child’s learning forward.

This can lead to copious amounts of pressure on school children, even beyond their everyday lessons and homework.

Father of five-year-old Wu Tianye told SMCP: “About one-third of our monthly income goes to educating our child. Everything in Asia is about competition, including being a parent.”