CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Beijing city's draft rules ban preschool tutoring apps

(Corrects the fourth paragraph to show that a ministry notice suspending tutoring apps was issued in December, not on Sunday, and that it was for secondary school students, not middle school.)

BEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Beijing city authorities issued draft rules on Wednesday that ban preschool tutoring apps for elective subjects, an extension of a crackdown on the for-profit private education sector.

The rules are the latest aimed at reducing the stress and workload of Chinese children. The Ministry of Education issued a notice on Tuesday banning kindergarten teachers from using corporal punishment or any behaviours detrimental to the physical and mental health of preschool children.

The notice also banned preschool teachers from teaching primary school content in advance and ordered them to ensure children under their care spend at least two hours outside the classroom every day and one hour exercising.

The measures this week aimed at preschool children followed a ministry notice in December that ordered the suspension of all tutoring apps aimed at primary and secondary school students.

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)