From the perspective of the relationship between education and the development of productive forces, this paper analyzes the reasons for the failure of the national salvation movement through education. Education does not play a decisive role in the political and economic system.

Education can't play a decisive role in the political and economic system, can't determine the direction of political and economic development, and can't be the fundamental driving force of social political and economic development. The theory of saving the country through education tries to reform education without touching the social, political and economic system, and it is actually not feasible to implement clean politics and enrich the country and strengthen the people. The theory of "saving the country through education" that appeared in the history of our country ended in failure.

Saving the country through education is China's educational proposition with universal social influence in modern times. It ran from the end of 19 to the first half of the 20th century, and prevailed in the 1920s and 1930s, with different identities of speakers. The basic idea is to develop education, so that people can change from ignorance to wisdom, and the country can change from poverty to wealth, from weakness to strength, and save the nation from extinction.