The top education department of Guangdong Province recently rolled out a document to encourage university employees and students to start their own businesses while suspending their posts and studies for a period of time.

    The policy allows students who start businesses to keep their places at the universities. Teachers who take advantage of the new program can include the years away from their posts to their working years.

    More specifically, the policy requires Guangdong universities to lift the policies for current students to set up startups to explore the field of business. Special assessments will be designed to test the students for certain exam-free subjects.

    University teachers are allowed to leave their posts for at most six years. The teachers are required to remain connected with the institutions and their social insurance fees will continue to be covered. Meanwhile, the teachers can still enjoy their standard salaries when they return to teaching.

    However, teachers who would like to start their own businesses need to get approval from the universities first and make annual reports to the institutions. Contracts will be signed between the two parties for the teachers to leave temporarily. (Zhang Qian)