Chinesepod - Education

Education

     About 50 years ago when New China was founded, 80 percent of the
Chinese population were illiterate or half-illiterate, with the total
school enrollment only accounting for 4.76 percent of the whole
population. Out of every 10,000 people, there were only 2.2 college
graduates, 23 middle-school graduates and 450 elementary school
graduates. By the end of 1997, the rate of illiteracy had dropped to 12
percent, and by 1998 elementary school education had been popularized
among 92 percent of the populated areas, and the state-regulated
nine-year compulsory education had been realized in 73 percent of the
populated areas in the country, thus making the educated Chinese
population reach one-fourth of the total. The rate of illiteracy among
the young and the middle-aged had decreased to 6 percent or lower. The
average level of getting educated for the Chinese people is now higher
than that of developing countries with the same average revenues.

     Due to the government policies of encouraging education, the
counties and cities, where the nine-year-compulsory education was
realized and illiteracy among young and middle-aged was eradicated,
numbered 2,242 in 1998. Also in that year, enrollment ratio of schooling
children reached 87.3 percent and elementary school 98.9 percent.

     Visible progress was seen too in improving secondary vocational
education and senior middle-school education. Enrollment ratio of the
students in vocational school, numbering over 10 million in 1996 and
1997, accounted for 55 percent of those who were subject to senior middle
school education. The senior middle school education was further
optimized. In 1998, student enrollment of ordinary senior middle schools
came to 9.38 million.

     The on-the-job training and continuous education were also
progressing, because of which several millions of working adults studied
for college-education certificates or special training. The long-distance
education network via radio, TV and satellite developed fast, which plays
an important role in universal education, teachers' training and
continuous education.

     The higher-learning education developed rapidly and its structure
was greatly improved. In the recent 20 years after the new policy of
reform and opening up was carried out, the higher-learning bodies of
various types have trained 18 million undergraduates 400,000 graduates.

     Progress was also recorded in pre-school education, special
education and those for ethnic groups. In 1946, there were only 1,301
kindergartens throughout China with an enrollment being 130,000. The
special schools were next to zero. The schools for the handicapped
children only numbered 42, with an enrollment of 2,300. By 1997, the
number of kindergarten increased to 183,000 with a total enrollment of
25.19 million, thus making the ratio of pre-schooling children in
kindergarten coming to 40 percent or more. There were 1,440 special
schools, accommodating 341,000 children. The handicapped children who
studied in ordinary schools accounted for 55.7 percent of the total
subject to special education. In 1997, 1.88 million children of minority
nationalities were studying in schools. The budget of government at
various levels for education for ethnic groups had kept increasing, and
there are policies and measures in favor of those ethnic groups located
in economically poor regions.

     Emphasis has been given to pedagogical education and teachers'
training. In 1995, the system of teachers' certificates began to be
adopted the nationwide, which guarantees that the majority of the Chinese
teachers are well educated. By 1997, 93 percent of the elementary school
teachers, 85 percent of the junior middle school teachers and 60 percent
of the senior middle school teachers were proved to be qualified and got
their working certificates. The adoption of the "Training Project for
Millions of Principals" throughout the nation helped improving the school
management to a great extent.

     International exchange in education has been broadening in the past
20 years. By now China has established exchange and cooperative relations
in education with 154 countries and regions, which have enabled 300,000
Chinese students to study overseas and over 90,000 foreign students to
come to China for studying.

    In 1980, the 13th Session of the Fifth Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress (NPC) ratified the Regulation on Academic
Degrees in the People's Republic of China, the first education law in
China, which marked that the Chinese educational cause began to be on the
track of developing according to law. Hereafter, a number of laws were
promulgated one after another by the NPC and its Standing Committee,
which included the Compulsory Education Law, the Teachers Law, the
Education Law, the Law on Vocational Education, and the Law on Higher
Education. A legislative framework in this regard has thus basically
taken form.

Extracted http://www.hellomandarin.com