Employees of public institutions in Anhui Province are to be permitted to leave their positions to start up their own businesses for three years, during which time their labor contracts are still valid, according to a new regulation by the provincial department of human resources and social security.

The regulation, released on Tuesday, also rules that employees at public institutions such as universities will be allowed to start private companies using their scientific and technological skills for six years.

If those entrepreneurs need to reinstate their position during the period, they can get back their original post and receive their previous salary, reads the regulation, which aims to support private enterprise.

Civil servants with government in Anhui who have worked for 30 years, or who have worked for 20 years, but still are five years short of retirement, are allowed to retire in advance to start their businesses.

"Authorities are required to evaluate these projects," an official from the department told the local news portal anhuinews.com.

The regulation has received mixed feedback as in the country, civil servants have been forbidden from doing their own business while still being employed as an official.

A 28-year-old civil servant, surnamed Wang, from Feixi county in the province, who earns a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan ($326), hails the move. "Young officials should have more options without being anxious about losing their jobs," Wang told the Global Times, adding that older civil servants can also can make full use of their experience.

While Wang Zhenyu, a deputy director with the public decision-making research center at the China University of Political Science and Law, opposes the move.

"Civil servants are hired to serve the public. Allowing them to do business with their labor contracts still in place in their original organizations means that the number of government employees will be beyond what is needed if they come back to work one day," he said.

"Moreover, they may use their existing resources and social networks to restrict other companies; this is unfair for other privately owned businesses," Wang Zhenyu said.