In the wake of an increased focus on quality education and the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, the nature and complexity of homework in preschools, primary, and secondary schools in China have evolved.
Notably, there has been a rise in handicraft assignments, with a new trend emerging — the outsourcing of unfinished assignments by children to their parents. This phenomenon, fueled by limited time and resources, has given rise to a burgeoning industry of "homework outsourcing" on various e-commerce platforms, as reported by Tide News, a news portal based in Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.
A simple search on secondhand trading platforms using the keyword "handicraft homework" reveals numerous products advertised as "handicraft homework outsourcing," covering assignments from preschool to university levels. Pricing for these services is determined by factors such as the time required, material costs, and assignment difficulty, with individual merchants setting their own prices.
Merchants, such as Dou Dou, noted a surge in demand for outsourced handicraft assignments during the winter holiday. Parents are turning to these services to ensure their children submit exceptional work for evaluation and awards. Interestingly, pricing discrepancies for similar tasks on the same e-commerce platform have been observed.
For instance, Dou Dou priced a handicraft dragon made from disposable paper cups at 50 yuan ($7), while another merchant charged 90 yuan for a similar product. Another merchant, Chu Chu, a part-time artisan with a decade of experience in preschool education, has seen a significant influx of orders, particularly for handmade tabloids from elementary school students.
On e-commerce platforms, services offering "outsourced handmade tabloids" have recorded monthly sales ranging from 100 to over 10,000, with prices averaging around 100 yuan per piece.
Xiong Bingqi, a director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, highlighted two reasons for students outsourcing their homework to parents. First, tasks often exceed students' capabilities and are challenging to complete without parental assistance. Second, the educational significance of the homework becomes blurred.
Xiong emphasized that teachers should clarify the purpose of handicraft homework, emphasizing the importance of the learning process rather than the pursuit of a perfect finished product.
