Educational Opportunities In China June 10, 2009 at 9:56 am
There was a time when people knew very little about China. The prevalent regime had kept it behind the iron curtains. It was therefore natural that people also had little inkling about the systems prevalent there including the educational system in China. Today the iron curtain has been removed and it is possible for you to learn about the educational system in China. 
In fact China has nationwide system running the public education. It includes primary, secondary, and higher education. Most important aspect of the educational system in China is that nine years of education is compulsory for all the Chinese students. Ministry of Education takes care of the education in China. Primary education is free for six years in most of the country while such free education is provided for five years in some parts of the country.
In the places where the primary education is compulsory for six years there the compulsory middle school education is three years. On the other hand for those provinces where the primary education is compulsory for five years the middle level education is compulsory for four years.
Primary education starts in China at the age of seven or six and thereafter six years of secondary education is provided to students for the age group of 12-18. The six years comprises of three years for middle schools and three years for high schools. Amazing feat achieved by the Chinese Educational system is that the attendance at the primary levels is 99% whereas such attendance is 80% for the primary and secondary levels taken together.
Free higher education in the country stands abolished since 1985 and the authorities have tried to compensate it providing for scholarships based on merit. Earlier on average the schooling for adult citizen was only 6.2 years but with the 9 years compulsory education the scenario has changed dramatically for the better.
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