The Ministry of Education has issued a sweeping set of 20 detailed prohibitions to regulate basic education, explicitly banning teachers from exploiting livestream tipping, knowledge-payment platforms or other means to covertly solicit money from parents by marketing anxiety-inducing content.

The negative list, released on Friday, is part of a broader push to reduce undue burdens on students and curb long-standing malpractices in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. The regulation sets clear red lines on issues ranging from student workload and well-being to campus safety and enrollment integrity.

The guideline strictly prohibits any words or actions that oppose the Communist Party of China or socialism, vilify the Party or the country's image, defame Party and State leaders or heroes and role models, advocate secessionism, distort history or glorify aggression. It bans the dissemination of such views through online platforms, forums and lectures, examination papers and test questions, teaching materials and reference books, electronic devices or any other public means.

Several provisions directly address the heavy academic workload that has long concerned families. Schools are forbidden from teaching ahead of or beyond the national curriculum or reducing class hours for subjects such as moral education, physical education, arts and labor skills. Homework must not exceed the amount or duration prescribed by education authorities, and repetitive or punitive assignments are banned.

The rules also prohibit excessive testing and require schools to respect mandatory sleep times and protect recess periods, banning practices such as confining students to classrooms during breaks.

Schools are barred from starting the academic year early or extending terms beyond the unified academic calendar. Organizing group instruction during weekends or winter and summer breaks is strictly prohibited.

Teachers are prohibited from discriminating against students. Any form of corporal punishment, disguised corporal punishment, verbal abuse, sexual harassment or other acts that degrade personal dignity is banned.

Schools may not organize exams for enrollment purposes or use competition certificates, extracurricular training results or grade certificates as admission criteria.

According to the guideline, forcing or inducing students to purchase books, electronic products, teaching materials or stationery through designated channels is also prohibited, as is the improper selection of textbooks and teaching aids.

The ministry has called for innovative oversight methods, including the use of the internet, big data and artificial intelligence, to reduce administrative burdens at the grassroots level.

Local education authorities are urged to widely promote the negative list to ensure it reaches every school, principal and educator.

Wang Hong, dean of the College of Teacher Education at South China Normal University, said disguised and hidden violations still persist in practice, undermining the education ecosystem.

The list has expanded from 12 items in 2024 to 16 in 2025 and 20 in 2026.

Newly added prohibitions include banning the introduction of primary school-style education in kindergartens, preventing teachers from seeking profits through disguised means and prohibiting the falsification of volunteer service records.

Experts said the updated list targets emerging issues in evolving educational practices and establishes clear red lines across all aspects of school operations.

The new guideline aims to break this deadlock through sustained institutional development and governance efforts to eliminate the conditions that allow such violations to persist, Wang told China Education News.

Shao Shuguang, chief inspector of the Anhui provincial department of education, emphasized the need for stronger coordination, with provincial authorities overseeing planning, guidance and supervision, city and county authorities handling implementation and daily oversight, and schools ensuring standardized operations.

He also called for greater collaboration among families, schools and society to move beyond a "score only" approach to educational evaluation.