Primary school students participate in interesting after-class activities. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]

Schools providing compulsory education in East China's Jiangsu province have thought up a number of creative ways, such as improving homework assignment and organizing interesting after-class activities, to help ease the academic burden on students.

For example, the Jiangyan District No 4 Middle School in Taizhou launched an "AI self-study class" pilot program for two classes last year. Students that participate in the program will receive an intelligent computer that can mark their homework and send the results to their teachers.

After receiving feedback from the computer, teachers can give personalized assignments to each student based on his or her level of subject mastery. This in turn reduces the time students spend on homework and makes learning more effective, said Wei Wei, vice-principal of the middle school.

An experimental primary school in Jiangyan district has also developed 35 courses related to six subjects, including arts and sci-tech, and hired professional teachers to teach these lessons on a regular basis so as to enrich after-class services for students.

In addition, students can attend fun activities that cater to their interests every Friday, said Chen Cunmei, head of one of the campuses of the school.

A primary school in Zhenjiang has also invited employees from the city's administration for market regulation to teach students how to safely use elevators.