Governance, policy reform, and the restructuring of private education in China

This chapter explores the evolving governance landscape of private education in China, focusing on recent policy reforms that have significantly reshaped the sector in the last 30 years. Drawing on a wide range of official policy documents and statistical yearbooks, the study examines how the Chinese government has shifted from a previously supportive stance toward private education to a more tightly regulated and ideologically guided approach. Key reforms, including the 2016 revision of the Law on the Promotion of Private Education (Revised) and the 2021 Implementation Regulations of the Private Education Promotion Law, are analysed to illustrate how regulatory tightening has redefined the boundaries of private school operations, especially in the areas of financial oversight, ideological alignment, and public accountability. The chapter identifies persistent governance challenges such as market monopolization, inequality in teacher treatment, and uneven regional policy enforcement. It argues that China’s private education reforms are not merely administrative adjustments, but part of a broader political project aimed at aligning education with national priorities and social cohesion. The findings contribute to a more profound understanding of how education governance evolves in hybrid systems where state control and market forces coexist in tension.