Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma is set to step down as president of his business school, Hupan University, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

School that's as hard to get in as Harvard

Hupan University was founded in 2015 in Hangzhou, where Ma's tech conglomerate Alibaba Group is located at.

The university is said to be one of the country's most prestigious business school, with Ma himself teaching there occasionally.

At the school's fifth anniversary celebrations on Oct. 22 last year, Ma said the university was more selective than Harvard or Stanford universities in the U.S., according to University World News.

The school reportedly only accepts students that have founded a company, employ at least 30 people, and generate an annual revenue of at least RMB30 million (S$6.2 million).

Previously, the school's new enrolments in April has been halted by Chinese authorities,

South China Morning Post also reported that the school removed all references to "university" on its Weibo account and official website.

The word "university" was also removed from a stone on the school campus. Global Times reported that the university revised its name to Zhejiang Hupan Entrepreneurship Research Center.

Amid the criticisms towards Ma's school, a person said the academy is only popular because of Ma himself, and not because of its curriculum, FT reported.

Therefore, the move might have been due to Beijing's efforts to limit Ma's influence, and stop him from building a large enough network that could potentially oppose the Chinese Communist Party's objectives.

Further retreat from public eye

Ma's latest move indicates a further retreat from the public eye for the co-founder of the tech conglomerate Alibaba Group.

He had previously made his first public appearance after nearly three months out of the spotlight.

His long absence from the public limelight came as Alibaba and its affiliate company, Ant Group -- the biggest financial tech group in China -- faced intense pressure from Chinese authorities in the wake of criticisms he made at a Shanghai summit about the government "stifling innovation".

Ant Group's road to IPO, which is the biggest listing of all time, then hit a roadblock just two days before it was expected to start trading.

It was later reported that Ant Group was ordered to downsize and restructure itself as a financial holding company under the authority of the Chinese central bank, in order to keep in line with financial regulators in the country.

Top image via Culture China