Recently, the Ministry of Education issued two consecutive notices concerning competitions for primary and secondary school students: one non-compliant competition was investigated and dealt with, and the qualification of another competition activity was revoked.

　　In September 2022, the Ministry of Education published the list of national competition activities for primary and secondary school students for the 2022–2025 academic years, known as the "whitelist competitions," with a total of 44 competitions included on the list.

　　Over the past year or more, how have the "whitelist competitions" been carried out? Why do "black competitions" not on the "whitelist" persist despite repeated prohibitions? What are the attitudes of parents, children, and teachers toward these two types of competitions?

　　"Whitelist competitions" must be periodically inspected and approved

　　Since 2018, the Ministry of Education has published three lists of approved competitions, establishing a competition "whitelist" system to strictly control the number of competitions, improve their quality, and ensure their public-welfare nature.

　　In 2022, to further improve the management system for competition activities for primary and secondary school students and reduce the excessive burden on students caused by competitions, the Ministry of Education and other departments jointly issued the Measures for the Management of National Competition Activities for Primary and Secondary School Students (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Measures"). The Management Measures emphasize that any school, student, or parent participates in competition activities on a voluntary basis, and explicitly require that the organization and holding of competition activities adhere to the public-welfare principle and must not be for profit; all aspects of competitions must not be entrusted or authorized to others.

　　In September 2022, the Ministry of Education issued a notice requiring that the competitions included in this batch of "whitelist competitions" be held in principle between September 2022 and August 2025, with no more than one holding per academic year during this period and no more than three in total. Competitions and the results they produce shall not serve as a basis for primary and secondary school enrollment and admission or as bonus-point items for the college entrance examination.

　　The "Salute the Heroes" National Youth Culture and Art Creation Theme Education Competition, whose qualification was recently revoked by a Ministry of Education document, was originally among the activities on the "whitelist," but it had prominent problems such as privately setting up sub-competitions, subcontracting at multiple levels, illegal charging, and chaotic management, causing a vile impact in society. After repeated reminders through talks, the organizer still failed to properly rectify the problems, seriously violating the relevant provisions of the Management Measures, and was dealt with severely.

　　As of now, only 43 "whitelist competitions" remain.

　　"This is both a need to further implement the 'double reduction' policy and a move to better warn relevant institutions to run competitions in compliance, truly making competitions a beneficial supplement to school education rather than turning them into commercial operations—no one should harbor any hope of getting away with it," said Dong Shengzu, a member of the National Expert Committee on Off-campus Training Regulation and director of the Private Education Research Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences.

　　Xue Haiping, a member of the National Expert Committee on Off-campus Training Regulation and dean of the Research Institute of Off-campus Education for Primary and Secondary School Students at Capital Normal University, believes that some competitions may exaggerate the role of their awards in publicity to attract students and parents to participate, while the actual recognition of the awards is not high; or the organization process lacks transparency and the judging standards are unclear, leading to unfair results.

　　Xue Haiping suggests that for "whitelist competitions" that have already passed review, their conduct in running competitions should also be periodically inspected and approved. On the premise of ensuring standardized competition conduct, students with spare capacity for study may be encouraged to participate in "whitelist competitions" to cultivate their innovative spirit and ability and lay the foundation for cultivating scientific and technological innovation talent for the country.

　　Why "black competitions" persist despite repeated prohibitions

　　The reporter noted that beyond the "whitelist competitions," there are also a large number of "black competitions."

　　On the way to a painting competition, Liu Yan kept imagining with her son how to paint the theme of this competition—"My Dream."

　　To attract Liu Yan to bring her child along, the teacher at the painting tutoring class told her that "everyone who participates gets an award." The child was about to enter primary school, and Liu Yan figured that "if he wins an award, it will look better on his resume."

　　But when they arrived at the competition venue, the situation was completely different from what she had expected.

　　The teacher asked the child what he liked, and the child said he liked boats. So the teacher downloaded a photo of a boat from the internet and had the child copy it.

　　Liu Yan admitted frankly: "This had nothing to do with the competition theme, and it gave the child no room to exercise imagination or show inspiration and talent." From the television monitor outside the classroom, she saw that at some difficult points, "the teacher actually took over and painted directly."

　　Such competition tutoring courses cost Liu Yan six class-hour fees, each of which was quite expensive.

　　What Liu Yan encountered was a "black competition" purely aimed at profit.

　　A teacher at a tutoring institution admitted frankly: "Running competitions is for selling courses. With a competition and the chance to win an award, the appeal to parents and children is greater. Otherwise, how would parents use up the course packages they bought?"

　　Why do "black competitions" for primary and secondary school students persist despite repeated prohibitions in the market? Dong Shengzu analyzed that some institutions or individuals, driven by profit-seeking, evade administrative regulation, run competitions without authorization in violation of rules, and bewitch students and parents with various fabricated "good news" to achieve the goal of "catching those willing to bite."

　　"Some students' parents, influenced by old ideas and habitual thinking, still mistakenly believe that as long as their child wins an award in a competition, it will help with school admission or recommendation, and want to 'optimize the resume' for their child, showing herd mentality. Some other parents want to understand their child's learning situation, but school examinations alone cannot meet their requirements, so they choose to participate in competitions," Dong Shengzu said. These parental psychologies are exploited by commercial institutions or individuals, causing "black competitions" to persist despite repeated prohibitions. In addition, some experts pointed out that a small number of schools still have not eradicated the tendency to "look favorably" on competition results without screening them during enrollment, which also invisibly intensifies parents' and students' pursuit of competitions.

　　Due to the diversity and flexibility of competition activities, relevant departments find it difficult to achieve comprehensive, timely, and dynamic regulation, which also gives "black competitions" an opening. The China Association for Non-Government Education recently reminded that some institutions and individuals, in the name of study tours, held the "Hua Cup" competition in Handan, Hebei, Tai'an, Shandong, and other places. After verification with relevant local government departments, the competition was a non-compliant competition, the test papers have been confiscated, and the relevant responsible persons are under investigation by relevant departments.

　　Xue Haiping said that study tours are an emerging educational model and consumer format in recent years, involving multiple regulatory departments such as education, culture and tourism, and market regulation, and are also prone to providing soil for "black competitions," requiring strict regulation.

　　Cultivating interests and improving quality: letting competitions return to their original meaning

　　Parent Li Xin has always been keen on having her child participate in various competitions. Whenever there is a competition notice in the parent group, "I will read it carefully, for fear of missing an opportunity."

　　Even though Li Xin knows about the "whitelist competitions," she still feels that "the more competitions, the better" and does not care much about the value of the competitions.

　　Once, when her son participated in an online math olympiad, Li Xin found that invigilation was not strict at all. "To get a good ranking, I just stepped in myself. Anyway, as long as you submit answers, you get an award."

　　On Li Xin's child's school admission resume, this "math olympiad" first prize was also included. She is certain that "even though these math olympiads and the like are flashy and superficial, they are definitely one of the important criteria for schools to select children."

　　"For a long time, competition award certificates have been regarded by parents as chips for primary-to-junior-high transition and for competing for high-quality educational resources. Although policies have been introduced many times to regulate them, many competitions remain popular. Therefore, great efforts are still needed to guide parents and students to truly break the superstition about competitions," Dong Shengzu said. The role of competitions should be viewed rationally. For some students with subject strengths and interests and with spare capacity for study, participating in competitions can broaden their horizons, stimulate potential, and achieve the purpose of educating through competitions. But not all students are suited to participate in competitions. "Do not participate in all kinds of pointless competition activities with a utilitarian mindset; consciously resist all kinds of 'black competitions,' otherwise it will increase students' extracurricular burden and affect their healthy physical and mental growth."

　　The Ministry of Education clearly stipulates that even "whitelist competitions" shall not serve as a basis for primary and secondary school enrollment and admission. Xue Haiping believes that the purpose of this move is to purify and optimize the competition environment, let competitions return to their original meaning of cultivating interests and improving quality, and truly become a powerful lever for promoting students' all-round development and healthy growth.

　　Xue Haiping also suggests strictly regulating the enrollment and admission behavior of primary and secondary schools. Local education departments should keep a close eye on important time nodes such as the admission season, deploy special inspections, seriously investigate and deal with hidden linkages between competition results and enrollment and admission, and hold relevant personnel accountable in accordance with laws and regulations for schools with non-compliant behavior.