An instruction by the education authority in Shaanxi province for primary schools not give written homework to pupils in grades one and two to prevent myopia has been both welcomed and questioned by parents.

In a survey by local media, of 496 parents who responded, 437 supported the measure and 59 questioned it.

Thirty percent of respondents said their children would do written homework for three hours a night, 50 percent said they would do it for one to two hours and 20 percent for less than an hour.