ZHENGZHOU, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A wooden bench, a laptop, a cellphone and a few bamboo pillars formed a makeshift classroom of a teacher in the mountains of central China's Henan Province. Dozens of students, over 20 km away in downtown Xinyang City, took his history lessons at home.

Zhou Yan, who built the makeshift classroom along a windy ridge near his house, said it was a workaround to stabilize the data connection on his cellphone as his hill-surrounded house used to have a weak mobile network.

Schools and universities around China are required to postpone their new semesters amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. Teachers and students are encouraged to turn to online courses at home.

Teachers like Zhou trapped in rural hometowns and lacking sufficient online working facilities have managed to keep up with the tight schedule of a new semester for students, especially those who are preparing for the forthcoming college entrance exam.

China's education sector also mobilizes quality online courses, available for nationwide primary and middle school students free of charge.

In some cities, classes are broadcast live online and students can interact with teachers in real-time.

Over 50 million students in over 300 cities have participated in online lessons on DingTalk, a major online conference platform of Alibaba, as of Feb. 26, according to the company.

Local communication operators have also beefed up home internet at counties and expanded free Wi-Fi coverage for teachers like Zhou who deliver online lessons during the epidemic.

Benefiting from the upgraded network service, Zhou has moved indoors to give online lessons since late February.

"I'm just doing what I can to help my students as it is now a race against time for them in the fierce competition of the college entrance exam," he said.