Education in China
Education in China is a state-run system of public education run by the Ministry of Education. All citizens must attend school for at least nine years, known as the nine-year compulsory education, which is funded by the government. Compulsory education includes six years of primary education, starting at age six or seven, and three years of junior secondary education (junior middle school) for ages 12 to 15. Some provinces may have five years of primary school but four years for junior middle school. After junior middle school, there are three years of senior middle school, which then completes the secondary education.
Education inequality in China
Additionally, as a result of China’s large population, college enrollment slots are still restricted in availability, with tuition so high that the costs far dwarf the income of a typical family in poverty. Recent efforts to expand college education availability, coupled with increasing emphasis on scholarships and loans, may help counter rising tuition costs (and other income-related barriers to higher education). Despite tuition challenges, more and more students have been able to graduate from college, with the number of college graduates quadrupling in the past decade.