Efficient utilization

陈小将

These demographic shifts directly impact student-teacher ratios. Last year, the ratios in kindergartens and primary schools reached their most favorable levels in years, with one teacher for every 12.7 students in kindergartens and one teacher for every 16.1 students in primary schools. While this allowed teachers to focus more on individual students, it also raised concerns about efficient resource utilization.

Teacher redeployment and downsizing are underway in many areas. In Ezhou, Hubei province, 500 teaching posts were reallocated from primary to middle schools, and the total number of posts was capped. In Hegang, Heilongjiang province, 206 school staff members were reassigned to other positions after a competitive reemployment process.

Gao Hang, vice-dean of Renmin University of China's School of Education, emphasized the critical need to reform China's educational resource allocation in response to significant demographic changes, describing the task as "very urgent" for improving fiscal efficiency, especially in the current economic climate.

Gao pointed out that the student population peak in kindergartens, which occurred in 2020, has already led to excess capacity, particularly in the private sector. The wave of decline is now directly impacting primary schools and is expected to reach secondary schools in the coming years, he said. Gao warned against complacency in the higher education sector, noting that while the sector is still preparing for its peak, some universities — especially private ones — are already facing difficulties with student enrollment.

He urged institutions to shift from a model of rapid expansion to one focusing on quality for creating diverse and distinctive types of universities. He also identified the international student market as a crucial avenue for future growth.