Addiction prevention

The National Press and Publication Administration has released a notice on preventing minors from becoming addicted to online games.

Online game providers can only offer one-hour services to minors from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on official holidays, according to the document made public on Monday. It also urged the strict implementation of real-name registration and logins, saying that online game providers must not provide any form of game service to users who fail to register and log in using their real identifications. Press and publication administrations at all levels have been asked to supervise the implementation of related measures and deal with companies that fail to put measures in place.

Students’ pressure

Students in first and second grades should have no written exams while students in other grades at primary schools should only have one final exam for each subject every semester, the Ministry of Education said on Monday.

In a new notice aimed at reducing the excessive academic workload of primary and middle school students, the ministry said middle schools are allowed to organize one test at the middle of the semester and one at the end of the semester. Some schools have organized too many tests that are too difficult. As a result, students have to frequently study hard, leading to exam-oriented education and a heavy academic burden, the ministry said.

Off-campus training

The country has urged local authorities to strengthen regulations over the registration of off-campus training institutions.

Authorities shall stop approving the registration of new off-campus institutions that provide curriculum subject-tutoring services for students at the stage of compulsory education and those in high schools, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) in a circular.

New off-campus training institutions catering to preschoolers are also banned, said the MCA. For those operating non-academic tutoring programs, a preliminary review shall be applied before their registration, said the circular.

Shark fossil

The fossil of a type of shark with petal-shaped teeth, which dates back to 290 million years ago, has been found in China for the first time, expanding its paleogeographic distribution, according to Chinese researchers.

The fossil of seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth was discovered in the Qianshi limestone in Yangquan City, North China’s coal-rich Shanxi Province.

The research has been published in the English edition of the latest issue of Acta Geologica Sinica.

The study showed that the specimens are characterized by petal-shaped teeth with a spade-like crown and a long, tongue-shaped root. (SD-Agencies)