вЂњShould I become a tarot card reader or an IELTS teacher, please guys vote to help me decide!вЂќ asked a poll from a user who described themselves as a private English tutor, referring to the standardized test of English language proficiency. In a forum for teachers on Chinese social media Douban, fresh posts pop up every day from laid-off tutors asking what they could do after having lost their jobs. Education provides 17% of the jobs held by recent graduates, more than any other field, the Financial Times reported, citing MoodyвЂ™s Analytics.

Those born after 1995 account for nearly 76% of the total teacher workforce in the online teaching field, according to a report last yearВ from Beijing Normal University. The tutoring industry had become a вЂњreservoirвЂќ of job opportunities for that group, according to Chinese news portal. But the education crackdown is quickly upending millions of lives of ordinary people.В Around 10 million people in China were working in the education sector last year, according to a reportВ (link in Chinese) jointly issued by the Beijing Normal University, which focuses on teacher education, and a research arm of US-listed TAL, a leading private education player. Other regulatory steps against the tech industry, such as the suspension of fintech giant Ant GroupвЂ™s IPO last year, or the opening of a cybersecurity investigation into ride-hailing firm Didi, hurt investors and tycoons. In general, the moves appear to more tightly cement the public systemвЂ™s control over the education of young children. WhileВ state-media say the ban on foreign teachers on online platforms is driven by parentsвЂ™ concernsВ about qualifications, there may also be an ideological component to the decision given a simultaneous effort to bar the use of foreign textbooksВ in primary and middle schools. вЂњItвЂ™s aways like, вЂWhat are you doing today? вЂHomework.вЂ™ вЂWhat are you doing later?вЂ™ вЂHomework.вЂ™ There was no talk about social life or playing in the park,вЂќ said Gascoigne. The idea is to both make educating children less costly for parents, and to reduce the pressure on children from an early age, something tutors get a tiny glimpse into. In late July, China issued a harsh set of rules (link in Chinese) that aim to ease homework and after-school study hours for students, a policy dubbed the вЂњdouble reduction.вЂќ They bar for-profit companies from teaching ChinaвЂ™s school curriculum, block foreign investors from holding stakes in firms offering such classes, and donвЂ™t allow after-school tutoring on weekends or during vacation. But as China tightens its regulatory scrutiny over the tech sectorВ in the face of Communist Party concerns about the influence and wealth of its biggest companies, it has hit especially hard at the private education industry, which officials see as contributing to inequality and perhaps even the countryвЂ™s plunging birthrate. In doing so, these firms created an industry valued at upwards of $100 billionВ with investors that include some of the worldвЂ™s biggest investment funds. It was part of an expanding after-school education industry that catered to worried parents trying to give their children a leg up in a highly competitive exam-based system. It quickly took off, turning founder Cindy Mi into a celebrated example (video) of a Chinese female tech entrepreneur.В Its pitch of earning $14-$22 an hour from the comfort of oneвЂ™s own home was especially appealing to young moms, and it was relatively easy to get started, sometimes taking just a month from applying with an online demo to teaching the first class. VIPKid launched in 2014, offering 25-minute video classes with native English speakers.

Beijing domesticates a globalized industry I think right now people are just in desperation, panic mode,вЂќ said Gascoigne. вЂњTeachers are applying everywhere, trying to grab something that could replace their income from VIPKid. But now this pool of foreign teachers is feeling the pain of ChinaвЂ™s tech clampdown. Some of them, such as stay-at-home moms, came to rely on the Chinese platforms for a substantial amount of income. VIPKid, one of the largest players in online English teaching globally, says it has more than 70,000 tutors in the US and Canada. In less than a decade, Chinese English-language tutoring platforms became a major employer for young people from English-speaking countries willing to work evenings and weekends, a sign of the rising influence of Chinese tech companies globally. вЂњMy Facebook groups were blowing up, my Instagram was blowing up, and my YouTube channel was blowing up.вЂќ вЂњIt was just like chaos, absolute panic,вЂќ said Gascoigne, whoвЂ™s now based in Thailand,В recalling waking up to the news.

Don t want to be a player no more