China's "double-reduction" policy to address the most prominent problems in compulsory education has generated positive results in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province as parents, children and teachers all welcome the changes arising from the policy.

Feng Zenghan, a student from the city's Middle School Affiliated to Qingdao University [Photo/Lanjing App]

Feng Zenghan, 14, a student from the city's Middle School Affiliated to Qingdao University, is a typical example of the beneficiaries of the "double-reduction" policy. Since the policy was implemented, Feng has spent more time on the subjects he is interested in and has earned outstanding academic results, and now has more time to do outdoor activities that he loves.

The policy was adopted by China in 2021 to relieve the excessive academic burden on primary and middle school students and to manage over-heated off-campus tutoring, which impacts parents financially and mentally and seriously hedge the outcomes of education reform.

The concepts of education among teachers, parents and society as a whole are undergoing positive changes, with more emphasis now placed on well-rounded development, overall quality, and physical and mental health development of students. Parents are changing their past behaviors of making their children study overtime and signing their children up for many off-campus tutoring classes.

Zhang Fengying, Feng's school principal, said that the policy allows the school to readjust its curriculum in line with the strength and interests of the students, and it helps nurture young generations with an all-around moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic grounding, in addition to a hardworking spirit.