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.
Free Tibet
Free Tibet launched their Confucius Classroom campaign in order to spread awareness about the negative aspects of Hanban's Confucius Institute. The Confucius Institute is a program run through the organisation Hanban which is directed by the People's Republic of China Ministry of Education. Confucius Institutes are established over 500 Confucius Institutes in Universities and well over 600 Confucius Classrooms in schools overseas. Although Confucius Classrooms focus on language and culture, the Hanban employed tutors must also promote an “understanding of China" and the tutors are banned from teaching about certain aspects of Chinese history, culture, and society. The program has been labeled by some as propagandistic and has been criticised for limiting academic freedom and thought through self-censorship. This controversy was enhanced when a senior Chinese politician described the programme as “an important part of China’s "overseas propaganda set-up."