Chinese Education

History

In the People’s Republic of China, the government runs the educational system. Like most public systems in China, it is run by a government agency, the Ministry of Education. There are two levels of free education: primary and secondary. The government provides both of these services. Secondary education ends at age 18 and is similar to high school in the United States. Higher education in China is mostly funded through scholarships. This leaves only the top applicants for positions. In 2003, there were 1,152 universities in China, with over 11 million students attending. There are numerous laws in China that adhere to students and professors, including the obtainment of only certain teachings and degrees.

Teachers

In the People’s Republic of China, the first holiday in honor of a working professional was given to teachers. This holiday focuses efforts on understanding the social status of teachers and their living conditions. Recently, teacher qualification tests were implemented into the system in order to make sure teachers had the correct prerequisites. This step greatly improved the quality of education for the primary and secondary levels of the government run system.

However, the teachers per student ratio greatly decreased due to the substandard candidates for teaching. To deal with these problems, in-process teaching programs were implemented for current teachers and basic requirements were set for those looking to enter the field. In order to teach primary school, a teacher must have completed their secondary education with certain credentials. Secondary teaching positions require senior-level education.

Literacy

Literacy is a large problem that China faces. China has the largest population of the world, with nearly one-quarter being illiterate. These statistics pair with the difficulty of not only reading the language, but also writing it. In 1951, the government took action to simplify certain aspects of the language in order to improve literacy rates. These actions included making characters easier to write and introducing certain aspects of the Latin alphabet. A second reform took place in 1964. Ideographs were reformed further at this time, with simpler; fewer brush strokes in order to increase ease of learning. Over 2,000 characters were adjusted for the reform. Literacy rates often fluctuate in China due to the misuse of many characters or just forgetting them in general.