MORE than 3,000 officials have been stopped from studying for MBAs and other expensive courses as part of the authorities’ crackdown on corruption and wasteful government spending.

    Officials had been barred from taking expensive courses, including those for executive MBA programs, Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

    Executive MBAs and similar courses are popular among officials and can cost about 600,000 yuan (US$95,000) a year, more than 10 times the annual salary of some officials, media previously reported.

    A government document issued in July said that all executive MBA programs would be classified as “expensive” and cadres prohibited from studying for them.

    Rather than paying for the postgraduate education out of their own pocket, officials have been known to cover the expenses by using public funds or money from companies or the schools themselves, creating various openings for corruption.

    The fight against executive education is one of the pillars of President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented and intense anti-corruption campaign.

    Officials wishing to take cheaper courses will have to pay the fees themselves and gain official approval to take the classes, the document said.

    The ban is likely to affect mainland schools offering EMBAs and MBAs, as well as the Chinese campuses of Western institutions.(SD-Agencies)