A student takes part in a PE class on Wednesday at the primary school affiliated to the Shanghai No.1 Normal School. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Shanghai schools promoted after-school programs on the first day of the autumn semester on Wednesday, following the country's call to reduce pressure on students in compulsory education with excessive homework and off-campus tutoring.

On the playground of the Shanghai Jincai North Secondary School, a group of students were playing basketball. On the other side of the playground, physical education teachers were teaching students how to play volleyball and soccer. 

In the teaching building, two students from grade eight were playing the game of go. "My off-campus classes have been reduced and I only have some art classes during the weekend," one of the students surnamed Chen told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The scene will be normal in each school around the country following the "double reduction" guidelines issued in July to call for reducing the burden of students. At the Shanghai Jincai North Secondary School, after the end of classes until 5:30 pm, the school will provide tutoring services for those students that need additional study time. Education in art, sports, science and crafts, among other disciplines, will also be conducted and students can choose activities by themselves.

From 5:30 pm to 6 pm, individual caring and tutoring will be conducted along with social strengthening and more activities will be pushed forward gradually.

The "double reduction" guidelines are helpful to "make parents think more reasonably" and "make children return to school life," Jin Weidong, Principal of the Shanghai Jincai North Secondary School, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

If we insist on pushing forward the policies, understanding of education by parents and students will go back to be rational, Jin noted, adding that some parents' anxiety over their children's studies will also relax gradually.

"I am very happy that I will have more time to take part in the activities I was fond of such as Kunqu Opera and dancing," Liu Yuanyuan, a grade eight student from the Shanghai Jincai North Secondary School, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that many of her friends regarded the new policy as a good way to relax their parents' anxiety.

"I think it's important to have time to think. After reading, I will have more time to think," Liu said.

Younger students also had similar experiences. All the primary schools in Shanghai have started after-school programs, according to the local education authority, with over 676,000 students taking part in, accounting for 78 percent of all primary school students in Shanghai. Also, 49,000 primary school teachers, 80 percent of all teachers at that level, have participated in the programs.

At the primary school affiliated to the Shanghai No.1 Normal School, after-school programs were divided into three sections: on-campus tutoring, club activities, which have over 60 classes to choose from, and caring time when students can read, do handcrafts or socialize freely.

The Shanghai education authority has released six major measures to meet the needs for differentiated instruction in order to foster a healthy development for students in a comprehensive way. For instance, the grade one and grade two students will have no written homework, while the average time for students from grade three to five to finish their written homework will not exceed 60 minutes. The average time to complete written homework in junior high schools should not be more than 90 minutes.