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China provides universal access to compulsory and free nine year primary schooling in all areas of China.

Primary enrollment rate is currently at 99.8% (Unicef, 2014), with the survival rate to last primary grade
also being 90 percent. (The World Bank, 2013). The trend of secondary education is increasing in China
from below 50 % in 2003 to just below 70% in 2012.
Gender inequality in enrollment rates of secondary and primary is low. According to the official data, up
until secondary level, the percentage of females as a percentage of males enrolling is close to 104%
(Unicef, 2014). This is reflected in the growing rate of adult female literacy levels which is 92.7%
(Gapminder, 2010)
Tertiary enrollment rates in China are on an upward trend; China has experienced an increase in
undergraduate student enrollment from 14.2 to 22.3 million in 5 years (Stanfield & Shimmi, 2012).
However, compared to international level, this is still quite low; a mere 20% of Chinas population goes
into tertiary education as compared to Australias 100% figure (OECD , 2014).
The brain drain issue is quite high in China, due to limited opportunities for students. The government
has taken up various efforts such programs to retain its students (1,000Plan Professorship for Young
Talents), has increased its scholarships provision for undergraduate degrees and has been adding to the
capacity of its universities so much so that Shanghai and Hong Kong are set to become regional hubs of
higher education in Asia (Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform
and Development (2010-2020) (ICEF Monitor, 2013) Also China is considerably spending on subsidizing
education for international students in its publicly funded and prominent degree programmes by
doubling the quotas of international students. The long term strategy is two fold, to retain its talent as
well as attract foreign talent.
However, this focus on expert or elite education seems to be taking away from the wide inequality
that exists between rural and urban areas. The poorest of the rural areas suffer from terrible conditions
such as untrained teacher and overcrowded schools. The better off rural areas do receive a relatively
better quality education, however are unable to compete with urban students when it comes to free
higher education. The national university test scores determine admission into the publicly funded city
universities but since rural students lack the resources to obtain the necessary minimum scores for
admission, they are left behind the urban students who naturally score much higher. The quota system
also ensures that children with a city as their place of birth have a higher chance of getting in a
university in their city. This keeps on increasing the urban-rural divide.
Even though the Chinese government has realized the importance of improving the educational scenario
of its rural areas and has implemented measures such as abolishing nine years school fee and investing
in vocational training, this does not seem to have the expected impact. According to Hansen, all these
measures have been implemented without considering the culture and attitudes of parents habiting the
rural areas which are a direct result of the growing focus on elite or expert education. ( Hansen, 2013)

Bibliography
Hansen, M. (2013). Recent Trends in Chinese Rural Education: The Disturbing Rural-Urban Disparities
and the Measures to Meet Them. In M. Hansen,
Economy, Society and Politics in Twenty-First Century China: Striving for a New Development Par
adigm. Routledge.
Gapminder. (2010). Gapminder.
ICEF Monitor. (2013). Hong Kongs allure underscores strengthening Asian education hubs. Retrieved
from ICEF Monitor: http://monitor.icef.com/2013/09/hong-kongs-allure-underscoresstrengthening-asian-education-hubs
OECD . (2014). Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing.
Stanfield, D., & Shimmi, Y. (2012). Chinese higher education: Statistics and trends. In International Briefs
for Higher Education Leaders. 5-6.
The World Bank. (2013). The World Bank. Retrieved September 9, 2014, from The World Bank:
http://data.worldbank.org/country/china
Unicef. (2014). China, statistics. Retrieved from UNICEF:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_statistics.html

Appendix

Source: Gapminder, 2010

Source: Gapminder, 2010

Source: OECD, 2014

Source: OECD, 2014

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