More than 20 students attend an unlicensed extracurricular class in a rented residential house in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. Inspectors from the local education bureau had to take care of the children after the teacher ran away to avoid the officials. [Photo: shw.cn]

While most Chinese children enjoy their winter vacations, others are still busy attending extracurricular classes.

As most Chinese parents believe high academic credentials mean a brighter future, they continue to send their children to the extracurricular classes for music, English and mathematics, hoping the courses will be a stepping stone for them to get into good schools.

But calls for relieving the academic burdens of Chinese students are also mounting. Stereotyped as being "exam-oriented" or using a "cramming method of teaching," China's system of primary education is often blamed for depriving many students of recreational time and killing their creativity. This has prompted the country's educational authorities to address the issue.

One solution under consideration is the ban of unlicensed extracurricular classes, although such extracurricular courses are widely offered, according to a recent report in the "Chinese Business Review."

To shun visits by inspectors from local educational departments, the schools that offer these classes often hold them in rented hotel rooms or residential homes, the report said. It cited a recent case where inspectors from a local education bureau found 20 children doing math problems in a rented residential house in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The inspectors later discovered that the class was unlicensed.

The report said because local educational bureaus do not have the authority to shut down and fine those who operate the courses, they can only urge owners to stop running the classes and issue refunds to students.