ethnicity and race, shall enter a school to receive
compulsory education of a prescribed year limit."
And the Ministry of Education put forward specific guidelines
on matters concerning nine-year compulsory education
including the length of schooling, the age of enrollment,
the duration of study, required conditions for schools,
funding and input for infrastructure, teachers and the
administrative system. It also set forth the principle
of achieving objectives in accordance with local conditions
and in a step-by-step way. By the end of 1987, provinces
(autonomous regions and municipalities directly under
the central government) had also worked out their own
plans for providing nine-year compulsory education.
By the 1990s,
the geographical distribution of primary schools in
China had become rational, with a school network that
enables children to attend school at a short distance
from home having taken shape, and conditions for running
schools having greatly improved. But a number of factors
continue to restrict the coverage of nine-year compulsory
education in China. These include a huge population,
a weak economic foundation, the colossal size of compulsory
education and a fund deficiency for education. The Chinese
government is continuing to pay top attention to
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making nine-year compulsory education universal and
eliminating illiteracy among young adults.
According
to Outline of Reform and Development of China's Education
promulgated by the Chinese government in 1994, nine-year
compulsory education will be made universal in China
in three successive steps: in economically developed
areas in the first step, in medium-developed regions
in the second step, and finally in economically underdeveloped
areas. To achieve the goal, in the summer of 1995 the Ministry of Education and the Finance Ministry jointly organized the execution of a Compulsory Education Program in Poor Areas. This is the biggest
education-related poverty relief program receiving the
most money from the central coffers. It involved poor
counties in 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities
directly under the central government. Investment in
the program from the central and local governments totaled
11.6 billion yuan (US$1.434 billion).
Social circles,
Chinese compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao and overseas
Chinese have given enthusiastic support to the popularization
of nine-year compulsory education. Two projects have
contributed to the popularization of nine-year compulsory
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