Shanghai Primary School Enrolls Only 22 First-Graders, Divided Into 5 Classes, With 23 Teachers Assigned

Photo: On May 12, 2021, a couple walks with their newborn baby in a local park in Beijing, China. ( Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images.)

[People News] Recently, the enrollment situation at Sanqiao Primary School in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, for the 2025 new semester has drawn attention. The entire first grade admitted only 22 new pupils — yet the school assigned 23 full-time teachers. Even more surprisingly, the 22 pupils were divided into five classes, making the teacher-student ratio greater than 1:1.

A public notice released by Sanqiao Primary School showed that the number of first-grade entrants this year was only 22.

What baffled the public further was that these 22 children were split into five separate classes, averaging fewer than five students per class.

With 23 teachers assigned, the teacher-student ratio exceeded 1:1.

On the afternoon of August 27, a staff member at the Shanghai Pudong New Area Education Enrollment and Examination Centre told Zonglan News reporters that every school must enrol students strictly according to its designated catchment area. Regarding the peculiar case at Sanqiao Primary School, the staff member explained: “In that school’s designated area, there are only that many children of eligible age. Several residential communities in the catchment area have already been relocated.”

When asked if the total enrollment figure of 22 reflected the entire school population, the staff member replied: “It should be, but you can confirm directly with the school.”

Reporters then called Sanqiao Primary School’s listed phone number. A staff member who answered confirmed that the school indeed had five classes, but was unclear about other details, noting that since the semester hadn’t started yet, the teachers had not officially reported to work.

Commentary from China.com Education Channel pointed out that, from the perspective of rational allocation of educational resources, such a high teacher-student ratio is extremely rare. Normally, schools adjust staffing based on the number of students to optimise resource use.

Parents online expressed confusion: “Why not just put all 22 children into one class? Isn’t this a blatant waste of educational resources?”

A Sohu Education Guide article suggested that although the student numbers are pitifully low, teachers hold “iron rice bowl” jobs. Moreover, the 23 teachers specialise in different subjects. Dividing students into five classes may be the only way to ensure every teacher has classes to teach, avoiding situations where some become idle.

Netizens reacted: “This is practically a luxury configuration — more teachers than students!”

“Shanghai, known as the ‘Magic City,’ has always given the impression of being overcrowded, with a booming economy and abundant job opportunities that attract graduates from all over. Normally, where people work, they also settle down, marry, and have children. So why are schools unable to recruit even a handful of students? Why is the student source drying up?”

One poster, “Chunyang,” argued: “It must be a policy issue. Restrictions on migrant families are too strict. Workers’ children can’t attend public schools in the cities where their parents work. My child in Xiamen has to go to a private school because public schools are closed to us. Tuition is 40,000 yuan a year — more expensive than college.”

Another netizen, “Peach,” commented: “It feels like the birth rate is collapsing. Years ago, people lined up for days outside kindergartens just to register.”

A Guangdong parent recalled: “Three years ago, my son had to go through a lottery for a primary school spot — and he didn’t even win. I had to pay 60,000 yuan for a place. Now, forget lotteries — you can just walk in and register. The change in only three years is unbelievable.”

Others chimed in: “Exaggerated? Our local primary school in Yongjia, Wenzhou, has only seven students and 21 teachers. Believe it or not, it’s true!”

Netizen “Niu” analysed: Not only in townships, but even some county kindergartens have started closing down, and county primary schools are struggling to enrol students. All of this is the result of the family planning policy launched in the 1980s. Births have plummeted, the population is severely ageing, and in the future, all industries will be deeply affected — especially with mounting pressure on pension funds.

Netizen “September – Into Tibet, Out to Qinghai” said: Why was family planning enforced? Don’t you already know?

Netizen “Qiu Yu” agreed, saying that excessive family planning was a mistake.

Other netizens analysed further: The root cause of today’s population decline goes back three generations. During the era of encouraged childbirth, the grandparents of the post-1980s generation typically had four or five children, sometimes more. In the parents’ generation, there were still four or five siblings who all had to marry and have children; despite family planning, the overall population was still relatively large. But by the 1980s and 1990s generation, most were only children. When two only children marry, they usually have just one child, at most two. Therefore, the population cliff was an inevitable outcome.

One netizen commented: It’s obvious. Nowadays, young people who marry in the cities already have to buy a house and a car, so their children can’t possibly go back to the countryside for schooling. But the real issue is that these young people in the cities are paying mortgages and car loans every month. How could they dare to marry and have children?

Another wrote: “The social security system is inadequate, and the survival pressure on ordinary people is too great. Why have children? To bring them into the world just to suffer? All the money flows into the hands of a tiny minority. What do ordinary people have left to raise children with?”

Meanwhile, a netizen from Guizhou countered: “In Bijie, one first-grade class has 70 students. This year alone, there are 36 such classes. Educational resources are completely unbalanced.”

Another responded: “Shanghai has a surplus of teachers, while mountain villages desperately need them. This reflects the extreme imbalance in population and resource allocation between cities and rural areas — a major governance issue that should be addressed.”

A China.com article concluded that Sanqiao Primary School’s enrollment situation serves as a window into broader issues — urban development, demographic change, and education reform all intertwined.

According to a public announcement from the Pudong Education Bureau in April 2025, Sanqiao Primary School’s catchment area falls within Jinqiao Town, covering Jinming Village, Lane 2346 Jinqiao Road, Lane 2552 Jinqiao Road, Jinxiang Village, Sanqiao Village, Shezhuang Village, and Zhangbin Village. Among these, only Jinpu New Village remains inhabited; the rest have been relocated.

Public records show that Sanqiao Primary School was founded in 1916, located between the Jinqiao Development Zone and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, at No. 28, Lane 2690, Jinqiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai. △