20 "Strictly Prohibited" Items! Drawing the Red Line for Basic Education Schooling Ministry of Education Releases Negative List

Today (27th), the Ministry of Education issued the “Notice on Conducting a Year of Standardized Management and Consolidation in Basic Education,” which will focus on five core areas: educational equity, daily management, school governance, campus safety, and educational ecology. The initiative aims to continuously regulate the conduct of basic education institutions.

The “Notice” outlines five key consolidation tasks.

1. Consolidate and improve educational equity by standardizing enrollment practices, managing student registration, and addressing “hidden dropout” issues, promoting sustained improvement in fairness.

2. Strengthen daily management by monitoring “model schools,” optimizing recess activities, enhancing mental health services, standardizing homework and examinations, and ensuring the “health first” philosophy is thoroughly implemented throughout students’ growth.

3. Improve school governance and management capabilities through leadership capacity enhancement plans, specialized training for county and district officials, on-the-job training at model schools, and school reputation evaluations, ensuring management standards are implemented at every school.

4. Enhance campus safety by improving coordination mechanisms, strengthening safety hazard inspections, preventing school bullying, and deepening the “Three Rectifications” campaign, ensuring safety measures are thoroughly implemented.

5. Build a positive educational ecology by regulating social activities on campus, strengthening teacher ethics and conduct, and promoting collaboration among families, schools, and communities to foster a healthy environment for student growth, dedicated teaching, and respect for teachers.

The “Notice” also presents 20 negative list items, addressing six categories: threats to political security, impacts on educational fairness, harm to students’ physical and mental health, excessive academic burdens, violations of teacher ethics, and infringement on public interests, explicitly prohibiting these behaviors.

Negative List for Basic Education Standardized Management (2026 Edition)

1. Prohibit any anti-Party, anti-socialist, or defamation of the Party and national image speech or behavior, including spreading false views through online media, forums, exams, teaching materials, electronic devices, or other public channels.

2. Ban exceeding the prescribed curriculum standards and content, such as overloading or advancing teaching, and encroaching on moral, legal, physical, health, arts, labor, or comprehensive practical activity classes.

3. Forbid assigning homework beyond the total amount and duration set by education authorities, or assigning repetitive and punitive homework.

4. Prohibit frequent exams that increase students’ academic burden, violating regulations on daily exam management.

5. Ban disrupting students’ sleep schedules or extending study hours through improper arrangements, including occupying recess time or restricting students from leaving classrooms during breaks.

6. Forbid schools from starting earlier or delaying holidays in violation of the school calendar, or organizing make-up classes during holidays or summer/winter breaks.

7. Prohibit kindergartens from adopting primary school teaching methods or content, or assessing children’s abilities and development levels directly to evaluate quality.

8. Ban organizing exams aimed at selecting students or using certificates, social training results, or grading proofs as admission criteria.

9. Prohibit ranking schools based on enrollment rates or exam scores, ranking teachers, promoting high school entrance exam champions, prestigious schools, or enrollment rates, and displaying banners like “Higher Education Source Base” or other inducements.

10. Ban teachers from discriminating against students, physically punishing, verbally abusing, insulting, or harassing students, or infringing on their dignity.

11. Forbid teachers from paid tutoring, soliciting money through live streams, tips, or paid content, or profiting from content that creates anxiety among parents.

12. Prohibit schools from deviating from the goal of moral education, creating unreasonable or unethical rules, or treating students and parents unfairly, including behaviors that harm relationships.

13. Ban neglect or tolerance of bullying, including acts of bullying the weak, or using violence or intimidation.

14. Forbid organizing commercial activities or competitions that conflict with students’ physical and mental development, or falsifying volunteer service records or buying and selling activity hours.

15. Prohibit misconduct such as seeking personal gain, falsification, or procedural violations in student organization and leadership selection processes.

16. Ban superficial campus safety inspections, incomplete risk management and emergency response mechanisms, ignoring major safety hazards, or covering up accidents.

17. Forbid neglecting food safety responsibilities, such as poor management of school canteens, unsafe food hygiene, or serving spoiled or unsafe food leading to food poisoning.

18. Ban illegal textbook selection, unauthorized ordering of teaching aids, or forcing students to buy books, electronics, or supplies through designated channels.

19. Prohibit violations of uniform procurement regulations, such as mandatory uniform purchases or profiting from uniform sales.

20. Ban violations of fee management rules, such as adding charges without approval, raising fees, expanding fee scope, or misappropriating student aid funds.

(Source: CCTV News Client)