




































BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.20, No.1, 2025, BECE 1975 

 

 

 

 

The Reduction in Off-Campus Subject-Based Train-

ing Providers and Student School Hours: An Evalua-

tion Study of the Double Reduction Policy 

By Lu, W. & Wei, Y. 
Correspondence to: Yi Wei, Peking University, China. E-mail: 

ywei@ciefr.pku.edu.cn  

HERE is a consensus among Chinese families that education is critical 

to the future success of their children. The parents begin enrolling them 

in a variety of supplementary tutoring and training programs when they are 

still low graders in order for them to excel in academic performance. As a re-

sult, children in China must not only study the demanding in-school curricu-

lum but also suffer the burden of out-of-school training, which severely 

drains their time and energy. To alleviate the pressure on students and their 

families, the Chinese government released the Double Reduction policy, with 

the regulation of the off-campus training market being one of its primary tar-

gets. This study is an investigation of the effect of the policy on the reduction 

in off-campus subject-based training providers and impact of the supplemen-

tary tutoring service cuts on student school hours, using the data of a large-

scale sample from an internet-based survey. 

Research Findings: 

 Under the Double Reduction policy, the number of offline 

subject-based training institutions has been cut by 95.6%, 

and that of online ones by 87.1%. 

 The cost of out-of-school training service decreased by 40% 

on average. Ongoing are the regulation of non-subject-based 

training institutions and the prevention of their conversion 

into subject-based training services. 

 The greater the reduction in subject-based training institu-

tions in the vicinity of the school, the longer school hours 

the students have. This indicates the existence of mutual 

substitution between in-school and out-of-school education, 

and this substitution effect is more pronounced among dis-

advantaged student groups. It can be observed in many se-

cond- and third-tier cities, though not evident in the four 

first-tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shen-

zhen). 

T 

mailto:ywei@ciefr.pku.edu.cn


 

Vol.20, No.1, 2025, BECE 1976 

 The greater the cuts in subject-based training institutions in 

the vicinity of the school, the more likely the students com-

plete their after-class assignments in the school. The reduc-

tion in subject-based training services has no impact on the 

total number of hours the student spends on after-class as-

signments. 

The policy implications of the study are summarized as follows: The 

Double Reduction policy induced large-scale closure of subject-based train-

ing institutions, which increased the students’ reliance on in-school education. 

Hence, it is imperative to enhance the quality of school-based education, par-

ticularly the quality of after-school services, as the underprivileged groups 

are more susceptible to the impact of the reduction in off-campus tutoring 

service provision. 

 

 

 
Source: Journal of East China Normal University (Education Science Edition), 

2025;43(01), 37-48. 


