The Dilemma of China’s Education Policy

This paper analyzes the dilemma of China's education policy. Its main problem remains the unevenness of educational resources, with the double reduction policy as a case study focusing on the economic and social sustainability issues associated with education policy. By focusing on the drawbacks of the three-child policy and the privatization of education, this article points out that the double reduction policy has reduced the cost of education and the pressure of child-rearing on parents by reducing extra-curricular tuition and the academic pressure on students. It also alleviates the problem of uneven educational resources at the root, as the double reduction policy has allowed developed cities to reduce the content of after-school tuition, making the gap between urban teaching resources and rural teaching resources to a certain extent narrower, typically in the form of elite education and out-of-school tuition courses. This paper first sketched the history of the development of education in China, particularly the process of privatization of education; the second part aims to illustrate the necessity for the double reduction policy based on a content analysis of official government records and a literature study of relevant research, discussing how economic development, social stability, and the three-child policy contributed to the introduction of the double reduction policy. This is followed by an analysis of the negative outcomes of the policy and provides insights for further educational research. It is pointed out that in the long run, the double reduction policy is not feasible by relying only on restricting extracurricular providers and reducing the amount of homework for students, as more important is the enhancement needed in teacher assessment.