Compulsory education in China

Compulsory education in the People's Republic of China details the mandatory implementation of education within the actual jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China.

After the Cultural Revolution, the slogan of compulsory education was put forward during the period of order out of chaos. It was written into the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" (1982 Constitution) under the promotion of Deng Xiaoping and others.

In 1986 the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China" was promulgated, and mainland China formally implemented Nine years of compulsory education. In 2001, the State Council stated that mandatory nine-year education should be universal.

In the People's Republic of China all children and adolescents aged six to fifteen must receive compulsory education, and parents must allow their children to receive it. Nowadays, compulsory education has been realized throughout mainland China and is moving toward free public schools. Those with financial difficulties can apply for two exemptions and one subsidy plan to achieve free schooling at this stage. With the development of society, the call to extend the compulsory education period to 12 years is gradually increasing.

Compulsory education is the beginning of students' education (including ideological and intellectual aspects) and is closely related to the People's Republic of China's literacy campaign. Through this stage of the study, students can acquire basic survival skills.

Free primary and secondary education is for public schools only. At the same time, various private primary and secondary schools (including international schools) that charge fees have also begun to develop in multiple places (mainly first- and second-tier cities with developed economies); in 2015, the proportion of private schools reached 10%, and the education market has exceeded 315 million yuan.

Regulations on compulsory education

The "Constitution of the People's Republic of China", adopted in 1982, stipulates that compulsory education should be implemented in mainland China.

The state develops socialist education and raises the scientific and cultural level of the whole nation.
The state organized various schools and popularized the Compulsory primary education， Developing secondary, vocational, and higher education and developing preschool education ... .

— "Constitution of the People's Republic of China", 1982 Edition (Revised in 2005), Article 19

On April 12, 1986, the Sixth National People's Congress's fourth meeting passed the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China," which included provisions for nine-year compulsory education. The text is already correct in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

The state implements a nine-year compulsory education system.
Compulsory education is an education that all school-age children and adolescents must receive, and it is a public welfare undertaking that the state must guarantee.
Implementation of compulsory education, no tuition fees, miscellaneous fees.
The state establishes a compulsory educational funding guarantee mechanism to ensure the implementation of the compulsory education system.

— "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China", 1986 edition (2015 revision), Article 2

On June 29, 2006, the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress revised the law, clarifying that the essence of compulsory education should be Quality Education.

Compulsory education must implement the country's education policy, provide quality education, improve the quality of education, and enable school-age children and teenagers to develop in an all-around way regarding morality, intelligence, and physique. This will cultivate socialist construction with ideals, character, culture, and discipline—corrected text: Lay the foundation for successors and successors.

— "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China", 2006 Edition (2015 Revision), Article 3

Protection of school-age children's right to compulsory education

In the People's Republic of China, the forced deprivation of the right to compulsory education for students has gradually been taken seriously, especially in urban areas where it is considered a serious crime. The Law on the Protection of Minors has provisions related to the right of school-age children to compulsory education.

Article 13　Parents or other guardians shall respect the right of minors to receive education, enable children of school age to enrol in school to receive and complete compulsory education per the law, and not allow juveniles receiving compulsory education to drop out of school.

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Article 28　People's governments at all levels shall guarantee the right of minors to receive education and take measures to ensure that children from families with financial difficulties, those with disabilities, and minors among floating populations receive compulsory education.
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— "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors", 1991 Edition (Revised in 2013)

The starting age for nine-year compulsory education is six years old. Therefore, if there is no suspension or repetition midway, children will only finish mandatory education once they are fifteen. In China, the legal minimum age for working is sixteen years old, so compulsory education is necessary. Naturally, students at this stage can only participate in some jobs. Even if they sign a work contract, it has no legal effect. Even if it is necessary to recruit minors under 16 in industries such as art and sports, their right to receive compulsory education must be guaranteed.

Article 61　No organization or individual may recruit minors under the age of 16 unless otherwise stipulated by the state.
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Article 125　Violations of the provisions of Article 61 of this law shall be ordered by the departments of culture and tourism, human resources and social security, and market supervision and management to make corrections within a time limit according to the division of responsibilities, give warnings, confiscate illegal gains, and may concurrently impose a fine of less than 100,000 yuan. If it refuses to make corrections or if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend production or business, or its business license and related permits shall be revoked, and a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed. Not more than 1 million yuan shall be imposed.
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— "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors", 1991 Edition (Revised in 2013)

Article 15　Employers are prohibited from recruiting minors under the age of 16.
Arts, sports, and special craft units recruiting minors under the age of 16 must abide by relevant state regulations and guarantee their right to receive compulsory education.
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Article 18　The following labor contracts are invalid：
(1) Labor contracts that violate laws and administrative regulations；
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An invalid labor contract is not legally binding from the moment it is concluded.
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Article 94　Where an employer illegally recruits minors under the age of 16, the labor administrative department shall order it to make corrections and impose a fine. if the circumstances are serious, the market supervision and management department shall revoke its business license.
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— "Labor Law of the People's Republic of China", 1994 Edition (2018 Revision)

Governments at all levels in China have implemented "two exemptions" for all school-age children since 2017: tuition and miscellaneous fees are exempted, and textbooks are provided free of charge. For those who have financial difficulties paying tuition fees, the "two exemptions and one subsidy plan" policy is implemented. This means that in addition to the "two exemptions, " living expenses are also subsidized. However, each school may charge homework fees, school uniform fees, board fees, boarding school accommodation fees, etc.,according to the actual situation.

Features of compulsory education

According to the Compulsory Education Law, China's compulsory education has four main features：

• Mandatory, also called obligatory. It is the obligation of schools, parents, and society to allow school-age children and teenagers to receive compulsory education. Whoever violates this obligation shall be regulated by law. If parents do not send their students to school, the parents should bear the responsibility. If the school does not accept school-age children and teenagers to school, the school should bear the responsibility. If the employer recruits school-age children and teenagers, the employer should bear the responsibility according to legal norms.
• Free of charge can also be understood as public welfare. The state stipulates that "no tuition fees and miscellaneous fees" are charged at the stage of compulsory education. This goal has been achieved.
• Universality, also known as unity. This unification includes formulating unified standards for textbook formatting, teaching practices, funding allocation, construction guidelines and means for public funds for students in the compulsory education stage. Currently, China is in the background of consolidating the existing universal foundation.

• Balance. Compulsory education should develop in a balanced manner in the same region.

School-running system

Comparison Table of Different School Systems in China's Compulsory Education Stage

grade	age	Nine-year consistent system	May-four school system	Six-three school system
Ninth grade	14~15	nine-year consistent school	junior high school	junior high school
Eighth grade	13~14
Seventh grade	12~13
sixth grade	11~12			primary school
Fifth grade	10~11		primary school
fourth grade	9~10
Third grade	8~9
second grade	7~8
First grade	6~7

In China the government predominantly operates educational institutions that provide mandatory education. As school-choice policies become more stringent, private schools must comply with classification and placement regulations.

Competent education departments manage public schools in counties, county-level cities, and districted cities. In certain higher-level administrative regions, the education authorities may assume direct management of certain public schools during the compulsory education stage. However, the county or city where these schools are located still bears the ultimate responsibility for their specific operations. The administrative duties of private schools are overseen by the pertinent departments in the county or city where they are situated. At the same time, the consortium assumes responsibility for financing, administration, and faculty.

From an educational perspective, the compulsory education stage is categorized into three distinct systems: the 6-3 school system, the 5–4 school system, and the nine-year consistent system.

• The 6-3 school system, consisting of six years of primary education and three years of junior high education was first established during the Beiyang government era. It was derived from the "Jenxu school system." The aforementioned educational system is the prevailing model of mandatory education in mainland China, and it is also the most widespread educational system worldwide.
• The 5-4 school system, which consists of a five-year primary school and a four-year junior high school, is a prevalent system of compulsory education in mainland China and is implemented in some areas of the country.
• The nine-year consistent system is a developing educational and administrative system for schools in mainland China. Students attend the same school for a period of nine years, during which they are promoted to higher grades but not advanced beyond the school's curriculum.

Elementary school

Admission

The "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China" unambiguously specifies the age at which primary school students are required to commence their education:

For children who have reached the age of six, their parents or other legal guardians should send them to school to accept and complete compulsory education; children in areas where the conditions are not met can be postponed until the age of seven.

Political education

See also: Young Pioneers of China and Red scarf

Young Pioneers in Tian 'anmen Square, 2007

The "Articles of Association Young Pioneers of China, " revised in 2005, stipulated that the minimum age for joining the organization would be lowered from 7 to 6 years old. Before this revision, there was a requirement for newly enrolled primary school students to wear green scarves for six months to one year due to the one-year gap between joining the team and enrollment. This was done to differentiate them from students who wore red scarves. Students with poor academic performance were also given green scarves as a form of behavioural identification.

After the revision of the "Constitution of the Young Pioneers", most elementary school students are compelled to "immediately join the team upon enrollment" and become members of the Chinese Young Pioneers, with only a few exceptions. As a result, nearly all primary school students have become members of the Young Pioneers, contributing to the Chinese Young Pioneers' impressive membership of 130 million individuals. This achievement has established it as the largest pioneer organization globally.

The Young Pioneers established Young Pioneers associations in every primary and middle school throughout the nation. The Young Pioneers, a grassroots organization, is structured into brigades, squadrons, and squads. The team comprises a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 13 individuals, led by a primary team leader and a deputy team leader. A squadron shall consist of two or more subunits, and a committee is established for each regiment, typically composed of 3 to 7 members. The brigade comprises two or more squadrons, and a committee of 7 to 13 members is established to oversee its operations. Within this group, the team members elect the squad leader, as well as the members of the squadron and brigade committees. Elections are conducted on a semi-annual or annual basis.

In elementary school, squadron committees have been established in each class to work in conjunction with the class committees, resulting in nearly indistinguishable management of the types. The squad leader, who is typically also the squadron leader, bears the responsibility for overseeing the collective efforts of the class. The squadron committee of the course typically comprises the following roles:

• Captain
• Deputy captain
• Standard bearer
• Member of the study committee
• Member of the labour committee
• Member of the cultural and entertainment committee
• Member of the sports committee
• Member of the organization committee
• Member of the publicity committee

Matters. The squadron is set up under the company, and the squad leader is elected. The brigade is organized as a unit with the primary school, and a dedicated counsellor is assigned to lead it under the guidance of the Communist Youth League Committee of the school.

Subject education

Primary schools generally offer the following courses:

• Language. The primary focus of this course is to acquire fundamental knowledge of Chinese characters, pinyin, poetry, classical Chinese, and contemporary Chinese. For example, the Chinese textbooks recently compiled by the People's Education Press in 2017 prioritize teaching Chinese characters before introducing pinyin. 30% of the new edition of Chinese textbooks is dedicated to ancient poetry and essays, with a greater emphasis on extracurricular reading. A longer classical Chinese report will be included in the second semester of fifth grade. The study of contemporary literature provides a solid basis for instructing students in junior high school.
• Math
• Morality and the rule of law. Political courses. They were formerly known as "Morality and Life" and "Morality and Society".
• Science. Teaching the essential content of the four aspects of material science, life science, earth and space science, technology and engineering, and preparing to introduce physics, chemistry, geography, and biology courses in junior high schools. Beginning in September 2017, science courses will be taught from the first grade of primary school as an introductory course.
• Music
• Art
• IT
• Sports & health
• Labor. The teaching content is divided into daily life labor (cleaning, storage, cooking, etc.), productive labor (agriculture, traditional crafts, new technologies, etc.), service labor (public welfare volunteering, etc.)

Depending on the actual situation, the following courses may also be offered:

• Foreign languages. Especially for English, almost all qualified schools in the country will open it in the middle and upper grades (starting from the third grade). Good primary schools teach English from the first grade.
• National language. Minority schools are opened in ethnic autonomous areas and mixed-inhabited areas.
• School-based courses, local courses, and extracurricular interest courses.

Since there is no unified examination when graduating from primary school, it isn't easy to guarantee the quality of courses other than Chinese, mathematics, and English. Primary schools in vast rural areas generally only offer Chinese, mathematics, and physical education.

Graduation and further studies

Generally primary school students are rarely expelled, and most complete their studies without significant obstacles.

As the period of compulsory education does not end upon finishing primary school, the only means of pursuing higher education is enrolling in a junior high school, also referred to as a middle school.

Junior high school

Meeting of the morning of the elementary school, Shanghai, China

Admission

In mainland China students gain admission to junior high schools through various means:

• School choice: At one point, this system represented the most comprehensive approach to enrolling students in Chinese middle schools. After conducting comprehensive evaluations, elite middle schools were able to attract and educate outstanding students. However, this methodology has lost popularity in current discussions regarding the significance of comprehensive education.
• Divide by district and enroll nearby: This is the most widely used enrollment system in small and medium-sized cities and rural areas of China. The procedure involves dividing the entire county, including districts and towns, into several school districts. Within each community, a designated middle school is assigned, and all primary school graduates within the district are enrolled in the same junior high school. Some high-quality middle schools or those near district boundaries may also enrol students from neighbouring communities. In urban areas, parents often seek to purchase properties close to high-quality educational resources. This is due to the uneven distribution of such resources. As a result, they turn to the real estate industry in search of houses located within desirable school districts. In mountainous regions like Guizhou, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, junior high schools face the challenge of limited infrastructure, sparse student population, and absence of school transportation. Consequently, students must traverse distances exceeding ten kilometres on foot to attend school daily. In this instance, there is a notable prevalence of students who discontinue their education prematurely.
• Computer random allocation: In some metropolitan regions, multiple junior high schools are designated within proximity, or a significant proportion of students cannot secure admission to a limited number of excellent junior high schools. Currently, the computerized allocation method is frequently employed, whereby students are assigned to schools randomly through an automated system. A middle school located within the same vicinity as the elementary school. This method has not yet detected any instances of cheating; its success thus far has been purely coincidental.
• Nine-year consistent school: During the transition from sixth to seventh grade, certain schools may opt to reorganize their class structures.

The typical class size in junior high schools is 60 students, although it may vary between 30 and 80 students in practice, effectively mitigating the issue of extensive classes.

Emblem of the Communist Youth League of China

Political education

From the second to the third grade of junior high school, the students left the Young Pioneers in batches and joined the Chinese Communist Youth League. According to the "Constitution of the Communist Youth League of China," Chinese youths over the age of 14 and under the age of 28 recognize the constitution of the Communist Youth League and are willing to participate in an organization of the Communist Youth League, actively work in it, implement the resolutions of the Communist Youth League, and pay dues on time. If you don't pay the tour fee, you can apply to join the Chinese Communist Youth League. In fact, for personal reasons, quite a few people joined the Communist Youth League at the age of twelve or thirteen, and some people did not join the Communist Youth League until they were of age.

According to the "Constitution of the Communist Youth League," the Communist Youth League establishes grassroots organizations in local state organs, people's organizations, economic organizations, cultural organizations, schools, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Chinese People's Armed Police Force, and other leading organs of non-party organizations. It establishes branches under the general department.

The Communist Youth League has set up Communist Youth League organizations in junior middle schools across the country, that is, Youth League Committees; and set up Youth League Committees in all classes to jointly manage the courses with the class committees. Branches generally have positions such as secretary, organization committee member, and propaganda committee member who are responsible for specific matters.

In China, as long as a person makes no "mistakes", joining the Communist Youth League between the ages of 12 and 15 is almost inevitable, making it one of the world's largest youth organizations with 89 million members.

Subject education

Students must complete nine main subjects at the lower secondary level, seven examined at the end of Year 9 and two at the end of Year 8.

The nine courses are Chinese, mathematics, foreign languages, physics, chemistry, morality and the rule of law, history, geography, and biology. The following are the textbooks of the People's Education Edition according to the curriculum standards. Because schools generally learn the textbook content of the third grade of senior high school entrance examination subjects in advance, it is often challenging to know all the range of non-high school entrance examination subjects due to class hours. Additionally, the third grade of junior high school may not take non-high school entrance examination subjects. Each subject specifies what to study each semester.

In junior high schools students also study physical education, music, art, information technology, labour technology, and other courses. Students in some areas and schools also receive instruction in ethnic languages, local practices, and school-based procedures.

Graduation and further studies

In the 1980s the middle school graduation and senior high school entrance examinations were integrated. "That is to say, if you fail the high school entrance examination, you will face the consequence of not being able to graduate." Even if you are admitted to high school, you will be unable to enter high school because of "dropping out of junior high school." Since the early 1990s, the graduation and entrance examinations have separated. Beginning in the late 1990s, graduation examinations for junior high schools were abolished. As long as the final grades of all courses within three years are above the pass line (60% of the total score), students can graduate without any sanction or revoke all sanctions. Students who drop out of school are often expelled due to voluntary withdrawal or severe violation of school discipline and laws. Few of them drop out for other reasons. Students in the ninth grade (junior third grade) will face the junior high school entrance examination, namely the senior high school entrance examination.

To ensure the enrollment rate, almost all junior high schools adopt various methods to organize junior high school students so they can prepare for the senior high school entrance examination.

The senior high school entrance examination is the graduation examination for junior high school education, and it is also the unified entrance examination for higher-level schools. According to the scores, students are divided into key high schools, ordinary high schools, secondary professional schools, secondary vocational schools, or directly enter society. Since compulsory education ends here, stepping into society has become an option for candidates.

At present the high school entrance examination time in various places is mostly concentrated in the middle and late June; the subjects of the examination are not uniform and are determined by each place according to the situation.

Shenzhen American International School

Private education

With the process of opening up in China, some domestic and international groups with abundant funds have begun to devote themselves to the education field, trying to establish a number of high-quality private schools to compete with the public schools directly under the jurisdiction of the education authorities. At the end of the 1990s, there was a wave of private schools being established in large and medium-sized cities across the country. However, due to the insufficient living standards of residents, residents did not have much interest in private schools, and a large number of private schools closed down due to funding problems.

Most of the private schools currently in operation are schools attached to a mansion by real estate developers, and there are also international schools set up by foreign institutions in mainland China.

After-class life

In China students' extracurricular life in the compulsory education stage is generally prosperous. On the one hand, schools provide sufficient time, and some places also provide venues and facilities for extracurricular activities; on the other hand, the residual poison of "score-based" teaching to the test, lousy information in society, and parents' fear of being a queen, has become an obstacle to the all-round development of students.

Winter vacation and summer vacation

Under normal circumstances there are 20 weeks in each semester of compulsory education, meaning 12 weeks of total vacation time each year. These are generally divided into "winter vacation" and "summer vacation." Because the 'winter vacation' includes the Spring Festival, there is no additional holiday for the Spring Festival. Winter and summer vacations are usually about one month in winter and two months in summer. In high latitudes, winter vacation sometimes lasts up to two months.

The impact of the internet on students

In recent years, with the popularity of the Internet in mainland China, more and more children have begun to be influenced by it. Children in large and medium-sized cities have access to electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, and tablets from childhood. Students take information technology courses from elementary school and continue through their first year. Information technology courses focus on using computers and application software, but some places also teach simple computer programming. In junior high schools, students can compete in NO IP's famous division.

On the other hand, primary and middle school students are immature and are easily tempted by various information on the Internet. Students at this stage are often addicted to online games, webcasting, and other activities. They even spend a lot of money or use lucky cash, or even their parents' salary and savings. After entering middle school, students enter adolescence and become interested in gender differences. However, people in mainland China generally hold a negative attitude towards sex education, they resulted in a long-term absence of sex education. As a result, pornographic websites are popular. But currently, they have begun to promote related education.

Outside the headquarters of New Oriental

Private education

Private education is the official name of various private training courses and cram schools in mainland China.

Many parents adhere to the concept that "you can't lose at the starting line." And don't hesitate to spend a lot of money and save on food and expenses to enroll their children in various training courses. Some students request to enroll in training courses due to subjective or objective reasons.

In mainland China training courses are generally divided into several types:

• Learning classes. Including comprehensive courses and remedial classes. Expanded training classes generally refer to Mathematical Olympiad classes. This training class was top-rated during the Mathematical Olympiad fever period (2000s). The Mathematical Olympiad class gradually withered as the Olympic competition was no longer a bonus item for the college entrance examination. Remedial training classes mainly refer to students learning in-class knowledge through one-on-one or small lessons outside school. Most teachers in these training classes are outside the system, and the quality is difficult to guarantee. There are also high-quality junior high school teachers, but the education authorities strictly prohibit this behaviour.
• Foreign language class. Especially in English, some training institutions will invite foreign teachers to teach oral skills. Some training institutions also focus on test-taking skills. In addition to textbooks, the teaching materials used include "New Concept English" and "Cambridge English: Young Learners."
• Chinese studies. Most of these training courses mainly aim to teach Chinese traditional culture, ancient poetry, and prose, but some training institutions harm students in the name of training.
• Stylistic category.

Dispute

September 23, 2020. Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China: The number of dropouts from 600,000 to 2,419

Expansion of compulsory education

In recent years many people have suggested that China implement a 13-year compulsory education from preschool to senior high school. However, others believe that mainland China is not yet entirely affluent, and blind expansion of mandatory education will only make the country's financial situation worse. Nevertheless, some regions in China have begun to gradually promote 12-year free education by reducing or exempting tuition fees for senior high schools and exempting tuition fees for technical secondary schools and vocational schools, to transition to compulsory education fully.

It is important to note here that free education and compulsory education are two different concepts:

• Free education means students do not need to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees when studying. In some places, textbook fees and food expenses are also exempted. However, it does not involve whether they must accept this kind of education (that is, they have the right to choose).
• Compulsory education, in addition to the characteristics of free education, is more compulsory (that is, students must enrol in school and cannot drop out of school to enter society; parents must allow students to enrol in school and cannot force them to drop out of school; schools and organisation also should require school-age students to receive education).

The 12-year free education currently implemented in some parts of mainland China is not all compulsory education. Because the areas in mainland China that implemented 12 years of free education now have a "9+3" education system (nine years of mandatory and three years of free education). Because the first nine years are required, they can be called compulsory education. The next three years are optional and cannot be called mandatory education.

Exam-oriented education

In the short term China still needs to select students through objective quantitative standards, even if there are "reforms of college entrance examinations", "reforms of high school entrance examinations", and "self-enrollment". Therefore, exam-oriented education has become a significant problem that plagues compulsory education workers and students and has seriously hindered the realization of a balanced education. A new version of the "Law on the Protection of Minors," enacted on June 1, 2007, attempted to curb exam-oriented education but had little effect. However, some scholars believe that substituting subjective "quality evaluation" for objective examination competition will induce rampant behaviours of students' parents bribing teachers, eventually leading to "the upper class has no poor family, and the lower class has no family."

Farmers' children's education

Due to the household registration system left over from the past in mainland China, there are considerable differences in the social welfare of various groups of people. This problem is also concentrated in the compulsory education for the children of "migrant workers."

With industrialization and urbanization in mainland China, farmers who initially engaged in agriculture have entered industries other than agriculture, become industrial workers, and moved to cities. Often, their children also left their hometowns and went to the places where they worked. Usually, they are the main class with the lowest income and the worst working conditions in cities in mainland China.

The number of migrant workers is quite large, accounting for a considerable proportion of the population of mainland China. Due to their low income and the lack of local "citizen treatment" in education and other aspects, their children's education has become one of the most prominent problems in the field of primary education in China. However, in recent years, major cities have successively allowed the children of migrant workers to enjoy the same treatment as residents in compulsory education.