You may feel interested in students in other countries. Do they have so much homework? What do they do in their free time? People did a survey in China, Japan, South Korea and the US last year. Here are the results.

Who studies the hardest?

Chinese students spend the most time in studying. About half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day.

Who sleeps most often in class?

Japanese students fall asleep in class more often. About 45% of them sometimes doze off in class. It’s 32% in south Korea, 21% in the US and 5% in China.

Who is the most distracted?

American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted. 64.2% of them chat with friends in class. 46.9% of them eat something in class, and 38.9% of them send e-mails or read other books in class.

Students spend the most time in _______ in China. Japanese students fall asleep in class more often. American students are the most _______ in class, but also the most distracted. In their free time, most South Korean students watch TV.

Zhong Kaitong, a fourth-grader from Guangzhou, enjoyed a fun vacation this summer. Instead of attending English or math training courses.

A new guideline (指导方针) introduced by central authorities (中央政府) on July 24 helped Zhong enjoy some free time during the summer. Aiming to ease (减少) the schoolwork burden (负担) on primary and junior high school students, the guideline calls for reducing homework, improving the quality of education and regulating (规范) after-class activities, Xinhua reported.

According to the guideline, children below the third grade will not have homework anymore. It should take no more than 90 minutes for junior high school students to finish their homework. Off-campus tutoring institutions (校外培训机构) are not allowed to offer overseas education courses or advanced (超前的), national holidays or during winter and summer vacations.

More than 75% of children in Chinese cities from grades 1 to 12 are taking private tutoring courses, Global Times reported. “Parents are worried that if their children start behind, they will stay behind. Some training institutions have taken advantage of (利用) parents’ anxieties (焦虑) to make money,” said Chen Xianzhe.

“But this does not mean the tutoring courses will completely disappear, since exams still exist (存在),” said Chu Zhaohui. “Therefore, schools should improve their education quality, take the main responsibility for students’ education and not push them into tutoring courses.”

What will the schools of the future look like? Smart campuses (校园) are being built all over the world. Their high-tech features help students learn more effectively (有效地), as well as bring convenience to teachers.

The University of British Columbia has created Canada’s first 5G-powered smart campus. The school worked with a tech company to build a 5G network across its campus. Their researchers can use the network to test 5G software (软件).

At Staffordshire University in the UK, many students enjoy talking to Beacon and asking it questions. Beacon is an AI robot like a personal assistant (助理) for students at school. They can ask it questions.

People often describe universities as “mini-cities” which have their own transportation, roads, shops, and banks. Universities are seen as good places to test smart technology, because they have control over all of their buildings.

5G will be a big help for students who take online classes. Many people live in poor areas where there are no schools. But with 5G, this will change.