China is experiencing a dramatic population decline, leading to the forced closure of kindergartens in many areas.
The Education Department of Hunan Province recently issued a directive for the “orderly organization of the consolidation, transformation, and withdrawal of kindergartens.” This marks the first provincial government in China to officially order the closure of kindergartens.
On November 29, the Hunan Provincial Education Department issued a notice, instructing cities and counties to develop work and planning schemes for adjusting and optimizing the layout of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens for 2024-2035.

The notice states that, in principle, no new kindergartens will be added in rural areas, and the scale of new compulsory education schools in urban areas should not exceed 2,000 students.

Hunan Province has been one of the most severely affected regions by the decline in birth rates. According to data from the Ministry of Education, in 2021, the number of children in kindergartens nationwide decreased by 0.27% compared to the previous year, while Hunan saw a decrease of 0.86%, more than three times the national average.

In 2022, the number of children in kindergartens nationwide plummeted by 3.7%, with Hunan experiencing a 5.8% decrease.
This year, the province took the lead in proposing the orderly consolidation and withdrawal of kindergartens across the province.
Since last year, there has been a wave of kindergarten closures across the country. Data released by the Ministry of Education shows that in 2022 there were a total of 289,200 kindergartens in China, a decrease of 5,610 from the previous year, marking the first decline since 2007.
The situation worsened in 2023, with many kindergartens struggling to enroll students.

Following the kindergartens, primary schools are next in line.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, there were 149,100 ordinary primary schools in China in 2022, a decrease of 5,162 from the previous year. This means that in 2022, the total number of kindergartens and primary schools in China decreased by over 10,000.
If this trend continues, secondary schools and universities will be next in the coming years.

Source: https://www.ntdtv.com/b5/2023/12/09/a103832759.html