China says online education harmful for children, cracksdown on EdTech firms going public

China on Monday vociferously disagreed with the tech utopians’ idea of ‘digital education’ during the COVID-19 pandemic as it forced the $100 billion online education sector to make no profits with its latest regulation that barred EdTech companies from going public, a Bloomberg report confirmed. Furthermore, the Chinese government tightened its hold on online education businesses by prohibiting them from either accepting foreign capital or issuing stocks in case they were already public. This implies that these companies cannot make any capital with the online education system, leaving the investors empty-handed. 

Some of the investors reportedly impacted by China’s latest regulation are Warburg Pincus, Temasek, General Insurance Corporation (GIC), Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Tiger Global, among others. Chinese Communist Party’s launched a nationwide crackdown on the EdTech firms drawing criticism and backlash from the supporters of the new-age educational services. The pandemic has largely transformed the traditional classrooms into virtual ones, creating a need for the students, teachers, and parents to interact online. Experts have also called online learning a ‘silver bullet’ that seems to rescue the higher ed tools and businesses from the financial woes of the coronavirus pandemic, unlike other businesses. 

Online learning 'torments youth,' says China

While politicians worldwide are calling online education a ‘new normal’ and “the future of learning” during the COVID-19 pandemic, China reportedly believes that online learning “torments youth.” It goes on to claim that the higher online ed systems charge “expensive fees” from the parents, adding that online learning creates “social inequalities” among the wealthier kids with gadgets and tools and poor children. 

A UNICEF report had earlier similarly claimed that children were at increased risk of harm online during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The agency highlighted the aspects of cyberbullying and other threats, asking the governments, ICT companies, educators, and parents to protect children in lockdown. 

“The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented rise in screen time,” said Global Partnership to End Violence Executive Director Dr Howard Taylor.

“School closures and strict containment measures mean more and more families are relying on technology and digital solutions to keep children learning, entertained and connected to the outside world, but not all children have the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to keep themselves safe online,” UNICEF’s Dr Taylor added.