September 1 every year is the first day of the autumn semester for primary, middle, and high schools in mainland China. On the first day of school this year, many primary schools in various regions were forced to merge or shut down due to low enrollment. Even the century-old Sanqiao Primary School in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, had to close its doors. Upon receiving the notice, anxious parents gathered at the school gate, unwilling to leave.
Founded in 1916, Sanqiao Primary School in Pudong has a history of a hundred years. In the fall semester of 2025, the school only enrolled 22 students but had 23 teachers. With one principal and 22 teachers assigned to each student, the one-on-one teaching approach sparked controversy, with netizens criticizing it as a “waste of teaching resources.”
In a video shared by some parents, they mentioned being aware of the low student numbers beforehand. The school promised to stay committed even if there was just one student, but to their surprise, the closure was announced on the first day of school. On September 1, many parents stood outside the school in the scorching sun, refusing to leave. They had purchased housing in the school district for their children’s education, only now to realize the school had closed, and their mortgages were still unpaid.
Reportedly, these 22 students are now being transferred to Jinqiao Primary School, located 4 kilometers away. However, there is no direct bus route from Jinqiao to the Golden Harbor residential area where the students reside. The elderly residents are in a dilemma as to how to transport the children. Parents are anxious, demanding answers at the school gate, but none have been provided.
An education expert on the mainland, “Wang Qi” (a pseudonym), told Dajiyuan, “Schools with low student numbers are merging now mainly due to the continuous decline in the birth rate. The population is experiencing negative growth; there are fewer births compared to deaths, even during wartime, it wasn’t like this. Our internal dependency ratio is 1:1, one person supporting themselves without relying on parents is already commendable. Eighty percent are in this situation, unable to marry, unable to have children, unable to support themselves. How can they survive?”
Wang Qi mentioned that even the municipal government kindergarten in front of his house has closed down. “Previously, we had to pay or seek connections to enroll in that kindergarten. Now, with no children, many young people are unwilling to marry. Not marrying and not having children is simply due to lack of money and livelihood opportunities. After graduating from university, they are struggling to make ends meet with a salary of two to three thousand, not enough to live in Shanghai, get married, or have children.”
Due to the decreasing number of school-age children, primary schools and kindergartens across the mainland are facing closures. In 2023, over 5600 primary schools shut down, and 14,800 kindergartens were closed. In 2024, regions like Quanzhou in Fujian, Wannian County in Jiangxi had 22 primary schools deregistered, and private schools in places like Shuozhou in Shanxi and Taizhou in Zhejiang began mass closures. Over the past ten years, the three northeastern provinces (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning) have collectively closed over 6000 primary schools.
On September 1, Lianjiang City in Zhanjiang and Tanggong Village Elementary School in Liaozhen, also shut down. A parent of a student at the school informed Dajiyuan, “The school did not seek parents’ opinions, and without the parents’ knowledge, they directly announced the merging with Tanggong Village Elementary School, which was designated by the municipal government as a key cultural heritage conservation unit, with over sixty students.”
“After the merger, the students are being relocated 2 kilometers away from home, passing a mountain reservoir along the way. Parents are worried about how to manage if they are unable to accompany their children, especially with the increasing number of drowning incidents nowadays. In rural areas, it’s mainly elderly people taking care of children, and in case of any accidents, it would be hard to explain. Therefore, parents are congregating outside the school gate, still awaiting arrangements from the higher authorities. The local teachers are also inactive, fearing job loss, they dare not come out to fight for the children.”
A parent from a school in Yunnan relayed to Dajiyuan, “Unable to attract students, the education department notified us of the merger abruptly. Even now, the students haven’t been assigned to the new school for enrollment. Today, we’re going to register in the afternoon.”