Zhuhai to enhance oversight of apps for education

The education bureau of Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong province's Pearl River Delta, has introduced policy measures to strengthen oversight of educational apps in schools, allowing only standardized ones for use.

This month, the bureau published "Ten Measures to Further Strengthen the Management of Educational Apps in Schools" on its official website. The guidelines require all schools, as well as teaching and research institutions in the city, to follow a strict selection and review process before adopting any educational apps.

Schools are prohibited from charging students or parents for the apps or recommending them arbitrarily, according to the document. In selecting apps, institutions must consider at least three alternatives of the same type. Additionally, app usage cannot be linked to students' credits, grades or evaluations.

The measures aim to ensure that educational apps function solely as tools to support learning, rather than disrupt it, the bureau said. While the digital transformation of education is irreversible, standardizing apps will foster long-term development and create a healthier learning environment for students, it added.

Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said education authorities should release a whitelist specifying which apps teachers, students and parents are permitted to use.

"Educational apps in schools should be used for public welfare, and parents and students should not be charged," he said.

He also emphasized that app content must meet legal and educational standards, with pornographic and illegal material strictly prohibited.

Zhuhai's measures come amid the rapid expansion of education technology, with apps increasingly integrated into school operations.

"From teaching management to homework, from home-school communication to student evaluation, educational apps have almost become standard tools in schools," the bureau said.

However, this widespread adoption has also led to problems such as mandatory use, unauthorized fees, data breaches and excessive entertainment features, creating additional burdens for teachers, students and parents, according to the bureau.

In 2019, eight government departments, including the Ministry of Education, issued the "Opinions on Guiding and Regulating the Orderly and Healthy Development of Educational Mobile Internet Applications", the first nationwide policy to standardize educational apps. It set requirements for app approval, regulatory oversight and industry supervision.

At the local level, cities such as Beijing and Dongguan in Guangdong province have also introduced regulations in recent years to better manage the sector.

Xue Yixue, an office worker in Guangzhou's Tianhe district and the mother of a high school student, said she strongly supports the new measures.

"Standardized apps help students learn, while irregular ones could negatively affect them," she said.

Another Guangzhou parent, who requested anonymity, also backed the regulations, saying, "It's necessary to standardize educational apps so they can play a greater role in school teaching."

Li Qiaoshun contributed to this story.