Chinese cities have rolled out fresh education reforms aimed at easing the pressure on students, with new rules limiting the use of study aids in primary and secondary schools and guidelines setting national standards for desks and chairs.

The measures, announced ahead of the fall semester, build on the national “Double Reduction” campaign launched in 2021 to cut excessive homework and rein in private tutoring. Regulators are now turning their attention to study aids, including test prep books and worksheets long used to push students ahead.

Local governments are already tightening oversight. In August, Shanghai banned schools from profiting off books outside the approved curriculum, and pressuring families to buy them. No study aids can be used without official review, and vendors are barred from selling them on campuses.

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen has also required primary and middle schools to pre-order study aids from an official catalog for the 2025–2026 year, limiting each course to one workbook distributed free of charge. Other regions, including the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and southern Hainan province, announced similar rules this week.

For decades, China’s schools have relied on a “drill-and-practice” approach, assigning students large volumes of exercises known as tihai or “sea of problems” to prepare for exams. Study aids follow this approach.

Though China’s retail sales of study aids peaked in 2021 at 6.3 billion copies sold, the market continues to flourish, with 5.9 billion copies sold in 2024. The overall market is projected to be worth 146 billion yuan ($20.5 billion) by 2030.

The new rules have sparked mixed reactions from parents. While some believe it will reduce student workloads, others fear it will affect the long-term academic performance of their children.

“As long as exams continue to be the method of choice for assessment, it is impossible to avoid using study aids, because everyone fears their child will fall behind others,” read one widely upvoted comment on microblogging platform Weibo.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the China National Academy of Educational Sciences, told local media that reducing pressure on students will ultimately require changing the “drill-and-practice” approach and reforming the examination system.

In a parallel move this week, authorities also issued new national standards for school furniture, requiring reclining chairs to allow students to nap. Napping is common in Chinese schools but often done hunched over desks. The school furniture guidelines will go into effect in February 2026.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)