Home schooling has produced some successful people. Among them is Zheng Yuanjie, one of the most famous authors of children's literature in China.

A firm believer in home schooling, Zheng wrote a series of teaching material and self-taught his son, Zheng Yaqi, since the latter was in middle school.

His teaching methods proved effective. Zheng Yaqi funded his own magazine, and published his own photo album in 2011. He is now the CEO of a fully self-funded cultural enterprise.

But home schooling is still not widespread in China, where children must go through compulsory education for nine years.

Xiong Bingqi, a professor from Shanghai Jiaotong University, thinks there are risks in schooling at home because the mainstream curriculum is not followed.

"There is the question of whether they choose to take the National College Entrance Examination," he says. "And if the parents send their home schooling children to universities abroad, their method of teaching does not contribute to education in China."

China Daily

(China Daily 07/05/2012 page20)