Policies to Level Education Playing Field Backfire, Study Finds

By Lu Danyun, Huang Huizhao and Kelly Wang

00:00

00:00/00:00

Listen to this article 1x

Volunteers help children jump rope at a primary school in Hefei, East China's Anhui province, on Thursday. Photo: VCG

The education expenditure gap between wealthy and middle- to low-income families has widened since China implemented a policy aimed at relieving students’ academic burden and families’ financial pressure, thereby exacerbating inequality of access to educational resources, a recent study showed.

The gap exists in families’ spending on both in-school after-class services and off-campus tutoring programs, according to a survey conducted by Wei Yi, an associate researcher at China Institute for Educational Finance Research (CIEFR) at Peking University.

You've accessed an article available only to subscribers

Subscribe today for just $.99.

VIEW OPTIONS

Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.

Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code

DIGEST HUB

Digest Hub

Back

Explore the story in 30 seconds

The education expenditure gap between wealthy and lower-income families in China has widened, increasing inequality despite efforts like the "double reduction" policy.
Participation in off-campus academic tutoring fell overall, but high-income families maintain access via costly underground services; middle- to low-income families struggle with costs.
In-school after-class services participation rose to 30.8% in 2023, mainly benefitting top-income families, while rural and low-income families face challenges due to fewer resources.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2017：: The first round of data collection for the CIEFR Household Survey, which tracked family expenditure on extracurricular programs and tutoring services for primary and secondary school students, took place.

2019：: In-school after-class services participation level was at 25%.

July 2021：: China introduced the 'double reduction' policy aimed at reducing academic pressure on students and banning for-profit tutoring of core curriculum subjects.

2022：: Yu Hui's research survey found that nearly 90% of surveyed parents would not give up their children’s off-campus academic tutoring.

2023：: The fourth round of data collection for the CIEFR Household Survey was conducted, showing that the overall participation rate in off-campus academic tutoring services fell to 13.5% and the participation level in in-school after-class services increased to 30.8%.