Earlier this year, China's education system announced a new "Double Reduction" policy (双减政策). "Double Reduction" refers to a reduction in the total amount and time of school homework and a reduction of after-school training programs.
"The policy really helps me." Shen Yuzhe, a 13-year-old boy from Beijing said. He is happy that he has less homework than before and he can finish it at school with no need to take it home. "I'm also happy to find there are fewer exams. Besides, teachers now teach at a much slower pace so that we have enough time to understand what we have learned. We don't need to buy workbooks any more and the exercises are mainly from the textbook." Shen Yuzhe said.
"The best thing about the ‘Double Reduction' is the increased time in after-school activities such as dancing, volleyball and drama." Zhang Hangming from Tianjin is also excited. He has joined a group called "leadership development", learning all kinds of useful skills. He likes it because teachers are also giving them more chances to learn from real life. For example, they went to research plants in a field during a science class. He believes that is a much better way to learn than just hitting the books.
Some people welcome the policy while others are still worried. Yu Zhiyue, a middle school student in Jiangsu still feel tired. "With the ‘Double Reduction', I have really got less homework to do. But my mother is worried that I will lose the chance to review what I've learnt in class without enough homework. So I have lots of after-school classes. Since I can only take these classes on weekdays now, weekdays have become especially long and tiring for me. From Monday to Friday, I need to take online classes at home after I come back from school." she said, "My parents told me the rules had changed but the competition had not gone away."
