Under the education system of the Chinese Communist Party, students in mainland China endure daily learning pressures and struggle to find time to get enough sleep. How tired are Chinese children? One statistic shows that high school students in China study nearly 60 hours per week, which is almost 11 hours more than the average worker, thus raising the negative emotional index of students.
According to a report by Tencent News’ “Gu Yu Data,” statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics of China show that in 2023, the average weekly working hours for employed individuals in the country hit a nearly 20-year high at 49 hours, placing China at the forefront of nations globally. However, based on a survey conducted by the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) at Peking University, in 2022, high school students in China spent an average of 59.7 hours per week studying, which is nearly 11 hours more than the average worker, while middle school students spent 55.2 hours and primary school students spent 46 hours.
This progression from primary school to high school indicates that children’s “working hours” increase gradually, eventually surpassing that of most adults.
Reported by “World Daily,” Liu Jian, Director of the Chinese Institute for Educational Innovation at Beijing Normal University, mentioned that when considering the input-output ratio, Chinese students’ learning efficiency is actually at a “global medium to lower level.”
With longer study hours, leisure and sleep time are naturally squeezed. According to the “2022 China National Health Sleep White Paper” released by the Chinese Sleep Research Association, the actual sleep duration of elementary and middle school students is generally below the recommended standards set by the Ministry of Education: primary school students sleep an average of 7.65 hours, well below the recommended 10 hours; middle school students sleep 7.48 hours, falling short of the recommended 9 hours; high school students only get 6.5 hours of sleep, nearly 19% less than the standard 8 hours.
The mental health of Chinese high school students is concerning. Surveys show that Chinese students have noticeably high levels of negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, and anger. Once depression and anxiety persist and develop into illnesses, they are more likely to evolve into extreme behaviors, which have been important factors in the increase in youth suicide incidents in recent years. Additionally, the competitive atmosphere in society, high expectations from families, and interpersonal relationships on campus also contribute to these issues.
This pattern is more common in northern China. Data shows that in the northern and northeastern regions, study hours are generally longer. Shanxi province ranks first with 54.49 hours, followed closely by Chongqing, Heilongjiang, Jilin, and other areas, all exceeding 50 hours per week.
In order to stay awake, students need to adopt various methods: reading aloud with arms raised high, or even standing during lessons. In school, students are constantly on the move—running to classrooms, running to the restroom, and even running to eat. The report mentioned that students are chasing after the declining pace of resources in county towns, while teachers are using more class time to demonstrate the presence of education. This is why it is difficult to reduce the study hours for middle and high school students.