Rethinking How the World Learns

After the Ban

In 2021, China abruptly outlawed for-profit tutoring in core school subjects, shutting down an industry once worth more than 100 billion dollars. Millions of teachers, investors, and families were left in uncertainty as education companies such as TAL Education and New Oriental closed or reinvented themselves overnight. The government explained the policy as a way to reduce student pressure and restore fairness, but it also redefined what kind of innovation was acceptable in education. The decision forced a dramatic shift from private tutoring to regulated digital learning. While the United States and other countries continue to expand commercial EdTech startups with minimal oversight, China is building a new model that keeps technology closely aligned with public policy. The contrast reveals two distinct visions of how digital education should serve society.

China’s Reinvention of Learning Platforms

The tutoring ban did not end education entrepreneurship; it redirected it. Companies that once sold math or English lessons to schoolchildren began developing government-approved platforms for online literacy, vocational training, and adult learning. New Oriental, for example, launched live-streaming commerce to teach business English through product sales, attracting millions of followers on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

At the same time, the government introduced a state-supervised platform called Smart Education of China, integrating more than 20,000 free online courses from universities and technical schools. These programs are not driven by competition but by coordination. Data is managed centrally, content is vetted for quality, and profit motives are limited by regulation. For students, the result is a system that privileges access over commercialization.

Yet innovation continues. EdTech startups are now focusing on tools that improve teaching efficiency rather than test preparation. Artificial intelligence is used to grade essays, personalize feedback, and help rural schools bridge teacher shortages. China’s EdTech industry, once built on parental anxiety, is being reimagined as part of national infrastructure.

The U.S. Model of Openness

In the United States, the approach to educational technology remains decentralized and market-driven. Companies such as Duolingo, Coursera, and Khan Academy operate across borders, supported by venture capital and public demand. Federal regulation is minimal. Privacy and accessibility standards exist, but oversight largely depends on state-level laws and voluntary compliance.

This freedom has produced extraordinary growth. The U.S. digital learning market reached more than 80 billion dollars in 2024 and continues to expand as universities adopt hybrid teaching models. Innovation is constant, but so is inequality. Students from wealthier districts have greater access to advanced online learning tools, while low-income schools struggle to integrate them effectively. The market’s openness fosters creativity but offers little protection against uneven outcomes.

Two Models of Learning

China’s regulated structure and America’s open market illustrate competing philosophies of progress. China emphasizes social cohesion and state coordination; the U.S. prizes flexibility and private initiative. Yet both systems face the same challenge: how to use digital learning to make education more equal rather than more exclusive. In China, heavy oversight prevents the return of high-pressure tutoring but risks limiting experimentation. In the United States, innovation flourishes but without consistent equity or data protection. The contrast shows that neither model is complete on its own. The ideal system would balance freedom with accountability, allowing technology to serve learning rather than drive it.

Opportunities for a New Generation

For young entrepreneurs and researchers, this divide creates new spaces to act. In China, digital learning platforms for adult education, rural teacher training, and environmental literacy are growing under official support. Startups that align with public goals rather than private tutoring have access to funding and policy stability. In the United States, EdTech ventures that focus on inclusion and global collaboration are attracting investment from universities and foundations seeking to expand digital access internationally.

Students on both shores can benefit from this transition. Those in China are gaining access to free, standardized online materials that reduce dependence on private tutoring. Their peers in the United States can explore new models of interactive learning and design, building tools that reach users worldwide.

A Different Kind of Competition

The race to build better learning systems is no longer about who can teach more content but about who can teach more fairly. China’s experiment in centralization and America’s commitment to openness are shaping two versions of the future of education. Both offer lessons on how technology can expand opportunity when guided by thoughtful design.

For teenagers preparing to enter this field, the next frontier is not another app or algorithm. It is the ability to connect purpose with innovation—to design learning systems that reach beyond borders and make education a public good rather than a private advantage.