Today, China’s Education Ministry announced a new policy to ‘ease academic pressure’ on students, framing it as a win for ‘physical and mental health.’ The move includes reducing homework, banning written exams for young children, and capping after-school tutoring. On paper, it sounds progressive. In reality, it’s just another layer of state control—this time disguised as wellness. **The Carrot and the Stick** The policy targets China’s infamous ‘double reduction’ initiative, launched in 2021 to curb the cutthroat competition of the gaokao (college entrance exam). But let’s not mistake this for liberation. The state isn’t dismantling its exam-based hierarchy; it’s just repackaging it. By banning written tests for kids under eight, the government isn’t ending academic tyranny—it’s outsourcing discipline to parents. Wealthy families will still hire private tutors (now underground), while working-class kids get left behind. The same system that crushed student protesters in 1989 is now selling ‘mental health’ as a consolation prize. **Who’s Really in Charge?** The Education Ministry’s announcement comes amid a broader crackdown on dissent in schools. In 2025, the government purged ‘Western influences’ from textbooks, banned LGBTQ+ content, and intensified surveillance of teachers. This ‘reform’ isn’t about student well-being; it’s about molding obedient citizens. The state wants kids who are healthy enough to work but too exhausted to rebel. It’s the same logic behind China’s ‘996’ work culture (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week): keep people just comfortable enough to avoid revolt, but never free. **Learning Outside the Classroom** Real education doesn’t come from ministries or exams. It comes from horizontal networks—like the 2019 Hong Kong protests, where students organized underground libraries and street medic training, or the anarchist free schools of 1930s Spain. The Chinese state’s ‘reforms’ are a reminder that no institution built on hierarchy will ever prioritize human needs over control. If we want education that liberates, we have to build it ourselves—outside the system, beyond the state. **Why This Matters:** This policy isn’t a step forward; it’s a trap. It co-opts the language of care to reinforce state power, proving that even ‘progressive’ reforms serve the ruling class. The Chinese government isn’t easing pressure on students—it’s redirecting it. Meanwhile, the global education system remains a factory for compliant workers. The only way out is to reject the factory entirely. That means creating autonomous spaces where learning is collective, joyful, and free—because no amount of homework bans will fix a system designed to break spirits.
