In 2017, China made huge strides in modernizing its education system through further structural reforms aimed at promoting equitable and quality education for all in line with President Xi’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, as well as the guidelines that he introduced in his report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC. China now appears in the mid-to-top range of world education rankings.

I. Overall progress

In 2017, China had 514,000 educational institutions1, 2105 more than in the previous year. 270 million students were enrolled in degree-granting institutions, an increase of 5.455 million students from 2016, up 2.1%. Non-degree students numbered 54.657 million, an increase of 1.399 million students compared to the previous year, up 2.6%. The number of full-time teachers working at all levels in institutions was 16.269 million, an increase of 487,000 or up 3.1% compared to 2016.  

The floor area in educational institutions2 across the country covered 3.42 billion m2, up 4.9% or 160 million m2 more than in the previous year. Assets in teaching and scientific research equipment totaled RMB 919.09 billion, up 12.5% or RMB 102.42 billion from the previous year.

II.Compulsory education

In 2017, further advances were made in compulsory education, with more students enrolled, better educational resources, narrower urban-rural3 gaps and more equitable distribution of educational opportunities.   

1. Schools and students

In 2017, there were 219,000 schools for compulsory education across the country, 11,000 fewer than the previous year. The number of new entrants into compulsory education was 33.138 million, an increase of 2.3%, or 741,000 students from 2016. The number of students in compulsory education was 145 million, an increase of 2.1%, or 2.934 million students from 2016.  

The number of students enrolled and retained in primary schools continued to rise, especially in urban schools. In 2017, there were 167,000 primary schools, signaling a fall of 10,600 schools from 2016, enrolling nonetheless 17.666 million students, showing an increase of 0.8%, or 141,000 pupils, over 2016. Urban primary schools enrolled 6.3 million children, up 6.5%. Rural primary schools enrolled 11.365 million pupils, down 2.1%. The total number of primary school pupils across the country reached 100.937 million, marking an increase of 1.8%, or 1.807 million students, over the previous year.

The number of students enrolled and retained in junior high schools also started to show an increase, especially in urban schools. In 2017, there were 52,000 junior high schools, 224 less than in 2016, enrolled 15.472 million students, an increase of 4.0%, or 601,000 students, over 2016. Junior high schools in urban areas enrolled 5.5 million students, up 7.1% from 2016. Junior high schools in rural areas enrolled 9.972 million students, up 2.4% from 2016.The number of junior high school students totaled 44.421 million, up 2.6%, or an increase of 1.127 million students, year on year.

The number of students in primary schools for every 100,000 people increased by 89 over the previous year, to 7,300, while the number of junior high school students increased by 63, to 3,213.

2. Higher enrollment and completion rates

In 2017, 99.91% of the school-age children across the country were in school, and the gap between the sexes was almost closed. The gross enrollment rate in lower secondary education remained roughly flat over the previous year, at 103.5%, which is largely at the same level as that of high-income countries. In 2017, 98.8 % of primary school children went on to study in junior high schools, almost the same as the previous year. The senior high school admissions rate increased by 1.2%, and to 94.9%. The ratio of enrollment to graduation at compulsory education level reached 93.8 percent, up 0.4 percentage points on 2016.  

3. Compulsory education for children of migrant workers

In 2017, governments at sub-national levels continued to implement favorable education policies and measures formulated by the central government for the children of migrant workers, whose number and proportion in host schools showed a continuous rise. A total of 14.066 million children4 received education in cities where their migrant parents worked (79.7% in state-run schools), up 0.9% from 2016, and representing 9.7% of all students in their host schools.

10.422 million school-children were enrolled in host schools (79.0% in state-run ones), an increase of 55,000 students from the previous year, and 3.645 million students in host junior high schools (81.6% in state-run ones), marking an increase of 64,000 students from 2016.

Geographically, 58.3% of the newcomers were enrolled in schools in the eastern regions. Inner-provincial migration was the major source of the transient students, with inter-county mobility accounting for 56.2% of them.

4. Teachers

In 2017, the number of full-time teachers in compulsory education stood at 9.494 million, up 217,000 or 2.3% on 2016. The number of full-time teachers in primary and junior high schools was 5.945 million and 3.549 million, respectively, an increase of 156,000 and 61,000 teachers from the previous year. The student-teacher ratio (STR) dropped by 0.1 to 17.0:1 at primary schools, and rose by 0.1 to 12.5:1, at lower secondary level.

The number of teachers with an associate or college degree teaching the 9-year compulsory education continued to increase, with the fastest improvement in teaching credentials among the rural teacher population, closing urban-rural divide. In 2017, 95.3% of primary school teachers had an associate degree or higher, up 1.6%. The urban-rural gap closed 1.6% year on year to 4.6%, with 93.8% of rural teachers and 98.4% of urban teachers holding an associate degree. 84.6% of the junior high school teachers had a four-year college degree or higher, up 2.2%. The urban-rural gap closed by 1.3% year on year to 10.3%, with 81.1% of rural teachers and 91.4% of urban teachers having a college degree.

In 2017, 50.2% of primary school teachers across the country held a junior professional title or higher, down 2.4 percent from 2016. That proportion for rural teachers increased to 49.6%, shortening the urban-rural gap from 2.5 percentage to 1.8. 61.1% of junior high school teachers across the country held a junior professional title or higher, down 0.1 percentage points from 2016. That proportion for rural teachers increased to 59.7%, reducing the urban-rural difference from 5.2 percentage points to 4.2 percentage points.

5. School and class sizes

In 2017, schools for compulsory education continued to expand in size, while their class sizes remained stable. Regular primary schools had 604 students on average, an increase of 46 pupils on the previous year. Junior high schools had an average of 856 students, an increase of 25 students compared to 2016. The average class size for primary schools was 38 pupils, the same as the previous year, and was 47 students per class for junior high schools, about the same as the previous year.  

In 2017, the proportion of large-sized classes continued to drop. In primary schools, 8.9% of the classes had 56 schoolchildren or more, down 2.1% from 2016, and in junior high schools, 13.6% of the classes were oversized, down 4.2% year on year.

Investment in educational facilities continued to increase in schools providing compulsory education across the country, shrinking urban-rural differences. In 2017, the average value of equipment per student (AVE/S) in primary schools was RMB 1,405, an increase of RMB 204 or 17.0% over the previous year. The AVE/S in rural primary schools was 71.4% of that in urban primary schools, 6% more than that of the previous year. The AVE/S in junior high schools was RMB 2,265, an increase of RMB 255 or 12.7% over the previous year. The AVE/S in rural junior high schools represented 75.2% of that in urban junior high schools, 3.0% more than that of the previous year.

In general, schools providing compulsory education continued to make progress in their informatization drive, with the coverage of quality resources expanding and information technology being further integrated into teaching practices. In 2017, the average number of instructional computers per 100 students in primary schools increased from 9.5 to 10.5, and that in junior high schools rose from 13.9 to 14.8.

A high proportion of compulsory education schools provided internet access, and in this aspect, the gap between rural and urban areas was small. In 2017, 96.3% of primary schools provided internet access. This number was 98.1% in urban areas, 95.9% in rural areas, marking a fall in the urban-rural divide from 6.4% to 2.2%.

98.6% of lower secondary schools have access to the internet, and the urban-rural gap was closed, with the internet penetration rate standing at 98.3% and 98.7%, respectively.

The proportion of schools with a local area network (LAN) continued to increase, though the urban-rural gap in this aspect remains significant. In 2017, 64.4% of primary schools and 76.7% of junior high schools had established a LAN, an increase of 8.3% and 2.1% over the previous year respectively. In rural areas, 60.9% of primary schools and 73.7% of junior high schools were equipped with a LAN, 22% and 13% below the rate in urban areas, respectively.

III. Preschool and special education

1. Preschool education

In 2017, China had 255,000 kindergartens, an increase of 15,000 over the previous year. 69.0% of them were concentrated in rural areas. Children enrolled in kindergartens numbered 19.380 million, an increase of 159,000 or 0.8% over the previous year. Those registered in kindergartens totaled 46.001 million, an increase of 1.863 million or 4.2% over the previous year. In urban areas, children registered in kindergartens reached 17.069 million, an increase of 7.3% over the previous year, a higher percentage than in rural areas.

Kindergartens providing general preschool education5 totaled 165,000 across the country, accounting for 64.5% of all kindergartens. Nearly 70% of rural kindergartens offered general preschool education to 32.49 million children or 70.6% of preschool children across the country, up 3.4 percentage points from 2016.

In 2017, access to preschool education was further expanded, with the three-year preschool enrolment rate rising 2.2 percentage points over 2016, to 79.6%. 98.7% of newly enrolled primary school students received preschool education, an increase of 0.3% over the previous year. The number of those who received preschool education per 100 thousand people was 3,327, an increase of 116 over the previous year.

Progress was also made in building a more skilled and better-educated teacher workforce, with the STR dropping continuously. In 2017, there were 2.432 million full-time kindergarten teachers across the country, an increase of 200,000 or 9.0% over the previous year. The STR decreased from 17.6:1 of the previous year to 17.2:1. The proportion of teachers with a college degree or higher increased from 76.5% of the previous year to 79.1%. In rural areas, the proportion of teachers with such a degree was 73.4%, 12.0% lower than that in urban areas, reflecting a sizable gap. 69.3% of full-time kindergarten teachers had received professional training in preschool education, an increase of 1.7% over the previous year.

2. Special education

In 2017, there were 2,107 special schools across the country, an increase of 27 over the previous year. Students registered in such schools totaled 579,000, an increase of 87,000 or 17.7% over the previous year.

Students receiving special education at primary level totaled 423,000, an increase of 64,000 or 18.0% over the previous year. Among these students, 52.0% (2.7% lower than the previous year) or 220,000 (an increase of 12.2% over the previous year) attended regular classes or special education classes in regular primary schools.

Students receiving special education at the lower secondary level totaled 146,000, an increase of 23,000 or 18.4% over the previous year. Among these students, 57.8% (3.1% lower than that of the previous year) or 84,000 (an increase of 12.4% over the previous year) attended regular classes or special education classes in regular junior high schools.

Students receiving special education at the upper secondary level totaled 10,059, an increase of 31 over the previous year.

In 2017, there were 56,000 full-time teachers undertaking special education programs, an increase of 3,000 over the previous year. Among these teachers, those having received professional training accounted for 73.3%, an increase of 4.4% over the previous year. 

IV. Upper secondary education

In 2017, the number of students in upper secondary education increased slightly. Access to upper secondary education was slightly expanded, the STR rose, and school conditions underwent further improvement.

1. Scale and coverage of upper secondary education

In 2017, there were a total of 24,600 schools offering upper secondary education6 (including regular senior high schools, adult high schools and secondary vocational schools), a decrease of 93, 0.4% lower than the previous year. Students newly enrolled totaled 13.825 million, a decrease of 138,000, or 1.0% over the previous year. Students registered in these schools reached 39.710 million, an increase of 9,000 over the previous year. The average number of students registered in these schools per 100 thousand people stood at 2,861, a decrease of 26 over the previous year. The gross enrollment rate at the upper secondary level was 88.3%, an increase of 0.8% over the previous year. This shows that the vast majority of new entrants into the workforce have received at least an upper secondary education.

There were 13,600 regular senior high schools across the country (an increase of 172 over the previous year), with a total of 8.001 million students admitted (a decrease of 29,000 or 0.4% over the previous year) and 23.745 million students registered (an increase of 79,000 or 0.3% over the previous year).

There were 10,700 secondary vocational schools7 (including regular secondary technical schools, adult secondary technical schools, vocational high schools and technical schools) across the country (a decrease of 222 over the previous year), with a total of 5.824 million students admitted (a decrease of 109,000 or 1.8% over the previous year) and 15.925 million students registered (a decrease of 65,000 or 0.4% over the previous year). In 2017, students enrolled in secondary vocational schools accounted for 40.1% of all those enrolled in schools offering upper secondary education (a decrease of 0.2% over the previous year).

2. Teaching workforce at upper secondary level

The number of full-time teachers at upper secondary level reached 2.616 million in 2017, while the number of full-time teachers teaching at ordinary junior high schools rose 2.3%, or 40,000, to 1.774 million in 2017. The STR declined from 13.7:1 in 2016 to 13.4:1 in 2017, reflecting an improvement in the deployment of the teaching workforce. The number of full-time teachers with a Bachelor’s degree or higher rose 0.2% from the previous year to 98.2%.

For secondary vocational schools, the number of full-time teachers dropped to 839,000 in 2017, marking a 0.05% decrease or 393 fewer teachers than in the previous year while the number of full-time teachers with a Bachelor’s degree or higher rose 0.8% from the previous year to 91.6%. The STR8 declined from 19.8:1 in 2016 to 19.6:1 in 2017, and teachers with a “double qualification” accounted for 30.0% of all teachers, 0.5% higher than in the previous year.   

3. Senior high school conditions

In 2017, senior high schools counted on average 1,752 students, which were 17 fewer students than in the previous year. The average class size in these schools was 52, 1 fewer student than in the previous year, while oversized classes constituted 30.3% of the total, down 3.5% from the previous year.

The average floor area in schools per student stood at 21.7m2, 0.9m2 up on 2016, while the AVE/S arrived at RMB 3,729, marking an increase of 12.1% or RMB 404 up on 2016. Every hundred students were equipped with 18.1 instructional computers or 1.0 more than in 2016, while schools with LAN networks represented 88.4% of all senior high schools, almost the same as the previous year.

4. Secondary vocational school conditions

In 2017, the average number of students in secondary vocational schools was 1,533 or an increase of 8 than in the previous year.

The average floor area in school per student stood at 18.7m2, 0.4m2 up on 2016, while the AVE/S arrived at RMB 6,362, marking an increase of 11.7% or RMB 667 on 2016. There were 21.8 instructional computers per hundred students, up 0.6 compared to 2016.

V. Higher education

In 2017, under the overarching educational strategy of stabilizing scale, adjusting mix and promoting equality and quality, China’s higher education continued to grow steadily with access expanded and teaching infrastructure further improved.

1. Higher education enrollment

There were 2,913 regular and adult higher education institutions (HEIs) across China in 2017. This means that compared to the previous year there were 35 additional regular HEIs bringing the total to 2,631 (including 265 independent colleges); of this number 6 extra were colleges or universities offering Bachelor’s degrees bringing their total number to 1,243, and 29 more, or a total of 1,388, higher vocational education institutes. For the same period, there were a total of 815 institutions offering postgraduate programs of which 578 regular HEIs and 237 scientific research institutions.

Graduate institutes across China enrolled 806,000 students9 (full-time: 691,900), including 84,000 doctoral students (full-time: 82,000) and 722,000 master students (full-time: 609,000).

As the national government has vigorously promoted professional degree programs at postgraduate level to foster a greater number of practice-oriented professionals, enrollment on professional Master’s degree programs reached 402,000, marking an increase of 8.3% on the previous year and representing 55.7% of all enrolled Master’s students, while those signing up for professional doctorate degree programs also went up to 2,700, which accounted for 3.2% of all registered doctoral students.

Total enrollment in undergraduate programs both in regular and adult HEIs went up 2.0% to 9.79 million, an increase of 192,000 students over the previous year. This number included 7.615 million registered in regular HEIs and 2.175 million enrolled in adult HEIs, showing growth of 1.7% (129,000 students) and an increase of 3.0% (63,000 students) respectively over the previous year.

2. Students enrolled in higher education programs

In 2017, there were 37.79 million students across the country, enrolled in one form or another of higher education. The gross enrollment rate rose to 45.7%, 3.0% up on 2016. 2,576 out of every 100,000 people in the population were registered on some type of higher education program, marking an increase of 46 over the previous year.

The total number of current postgraduate students went up to 2.64 million, among which 362,000 were studying for Doctoral degrees and 2.278 million for Master’s degrees.

The total number of students currently enrolled in an undergraduate program in regular and adult HEIs went up by 0.5% or 175,000 to 32.977 million. Of this number, 27.536 million were studying in regular HEIs and 5.441 million in adult HEIs. Students enrolled in regular HEIs increased by 2.1% or 577,000, whereas those in adult HEIs fell by 6.9%, or 403,000.

3. Higher education graduation data

In 2017, 578,000 people graduated from postgraduate programs in China, marking a 2.5% increase or 14,000 more graduates than in 2016, of which 58,000 doctoral graduates and 520,000 Master’s graduates. The number of undergraduates receiving a Bachelor degree was 7.358 million, 4.5% up or 317,000 more than in 2016.

4. Teaching workforce in regular HEIs

With more faculty members holding degrees level or above qualifications, the quality of the teaching workforce in regular HEIs was further improved. The number of full-time teachers in regular HEIs reached 1.633 million, showing a 2.0% increase or 31,000 more teachers than in the previous year. The average STR for all regular HEIs10 was 17.5:1. The STR in colleges or universities offering undergraduate degrees dropped to 17.4:1, while the STR in higher vocational education institutes for the same period dropped from 18.0:1 to 17.7:1.

In 2017, 72.0% of all faculty members in regular HEIs held a Master’s degree or above, up 2.0% from the previous year. The percentages for colleges or universities offering undergraduate programs and in higher vocational education institutes were 82.0% and 48.1%, showing a rise of 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively.

In 2017, the proportion of teachers holding senior professional titles increased slightly. 42.8% of teachers at higher education level had a senior professional title, up 0.6 percentage points on 2016. More specifically, 48.1% of teachers at regular HEIs had a professional title, up 0.7 percentage points; while the proportion was 30.1% for vocational colleges, up 0.6 percentage points over 2016.   

5. Regular higher education institutions 

A substantial increase in government investments at all levels contributed to making a remarkable improvement to the capacity of China’s regular HEIs. Rapid progress was made in the provision of equipment and facilities for research and teaching, informatization and online courses, which helped to improve teaching quality.

In 2017, the average number of students per regular HEI11 in China was 10,430, an increase of 88 on the previous year. More specifically, the average number of students per undergraduate college/university and per higher vocational school was 14,639 and 6,662, showing an increase of 107 and 134, respectively, over the previous year.

There was a slight decrease in the average school floor area per regular HEI student in 2017, which reached 14.0m2, marking a decrease of 0.2m2 on the previous year. More specifically, the average school floor area per undergraduate college/university student was 13.3m2, a decrease of 0.4m2, while the average school floor area per higher vocational school student reached 15.4m2, marking an increase of 0.1 m2 over the previous year.

Nation-wide progress was made in the provision of equipment and facilities for research and teaching. In 2017, the AVE/S in regular HEIs was RMB 14,597, an increase of 752 over the previous year. More specifically, the AVE/S in undergraduate colleges/universities and higher vocational schools was RMB 16,925 and RMB 9,237, an increase of 744 and 666, respectively.

The level of informatization increased. In 2017, the average number of instructional computers per 100 regular HEI students was 26.7, slightly lower than the previous year. Compared to the previous year, the average number of instructional computers per 100 undergraduate college/university students decreased by 0.7 to 26.7, and the average number of instructional computers per 100 higher vocational school students increased by 0.8 to 26.8.

The average number of online courses per regular HEI in 2017 was 186.8, an increase of 16.9 over the previous year. More specifically, the average number of online courses per undergraduate college/university was 301.2, an increase of 26.5 over the previous year. The average number of online courses per higher vocational school was 84.3, an increase of 9.8 over the previous year though still markedly lower than in undergraduate colleges/universities.

VI. Adult education and training

In 2017, 9.274 million students were enrolled in China’s non-degree tertiary level education programs, and 9.808 million students graduated or completed their course. In the same year, 45.383 million students were enrolled in China’s non-degree secondary level education programs, and 47.441 million students graduated or completed their course.

In 2017, there were 89,000 vocational training institutes in China. The number of teaching and administrative faculty members was 515,000, of which 290,000 were teaching faculty members. 

In 2017, there were 9,700 schools offering primary level education to adults, with 754,000 students, 19,000 teaching and administrative faculty members and 11,000 teaching faculty members. There were 506 establishments offering high-school level education to adults, with 127,000 students, 1,772 teaching and administrative faculty members including 1,367 teaching faculty members. 

The number of illiterate adults was reduced by 283,000. In 2017, 304,000 people attended literacy programs. In these literacy programs, there were 14,000 teaching and administrative faculty members and 7,546 teaching faculty members.

VII. Non-state education

The Opinions on Encouraging Non-Governmental Sectors to Run Schools and Promote the Healthy Development of Non-State Education, introduced by the State Council on January 18, 2017, and the entry into force of the Law on the Promotion of Non-State Education of the People's Republic of China, on September 1, 2017 opened up space for the development private-run education in China. The number of students attending private-run schools at all levels of education continued to increase and take up a greater share of all students.

In 2017, there were a total of 178,000 non-state schools in China, an increase of 6,668 over the previous year, accounting for 34.6% of educational institutions across the country. The number of newly enrolled students in 2017 was 17.219 million, an increase of 816,000 or 5.0% over the previous year. The number of students attending non-state schools was 51.205 million, an increase of 2.951 million or 6.1% over the previous year. More details are given below: 

In 2017, there were 160,000 non-state kindergartens, an increase of 6,169 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled children in 2017 was 9.993 million, an increase of 342,000 or 3.6% over the previous year. The number of children attending non-state kindergartens in 2017 was 25.723 million, an increase of 1.347 million or 5.5% over the previous year, accounting for 55.9% of the total number of children attending kindergarten, marking an increase of 0.7% over the previous year.

In 2017, there were 6,107 non-state primary schools, an increase of 132 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled students in 2017 was 1.377 million, an increase of 99,000 or 7.8% over the previous year. There were a total of 8.142 million non-state primary school students in 2017, marking an increase of 578,000 or 7.6% over the previous year, and accounting for 8.1% of all primary school students, an increase of 0.5% over the previous year.

In 2017, there were 5,277 non-state junior high schools, marking an increase of 192 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled students in 2017 was 2.091 million, an increase of 204,000 or 10.8% over the previous year. There was a total of 5.777 million non-state junior high school students, an increase of 449,000 or 8.4% over the previous year, accounting for 13.0% of all junior high middle school students, an increase of 0.7% over the previous year. 

There were 3,002 non-state senior high schools, marking an increase of 215 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled students of that year was 1.114 million, an increase of 85,000 or 8.3% over the previous year. There was a total of 3.063 million non-state senior high school students, an increase of 272,000 or 9.7% over the previous year, accounting for 12.9% of all senior high school students, an increase of 1.1% over the previous year.

There were 2,069 non-state secondary vocational schools (non-degree technical schools excluded), a decrease of 46 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled students in 2017 was 787,000, an increase of 50,000 or 6.8% over the previous year. The total number of non-state secondary vocational school students was 1.973 million, an increase of 132,000 or 7.2% over the previous year, accounting for 12.4% of all secondary vocational school students, an increase of 0.9% over the previous year.

In 2017, there were 747 non-state colleges/universities (including 265 independent colleges and 1 college for adults), marking an increase of 5 over the previous year. The number of newly enrolled undergraduate students in 2017 was 1.754 million, an increase of 15,000 or 0.9% over the previous year. The total number of non-state college/university students was 6.285 million, an increase of 123,000 or 2.0% over the previous year, accounting for 22.8% of all undergraduate students in colleges/universities and higher vocational schools, the same with the previous year.

The number of newly enrolled postgraduate students was 747, and the total number of postgraduate students was 1,223. There were 800 other types of non-state higher education institutes, with a total of 745,000 registered students. 

Note:

1. Exclusive of after-school training agencies.

2. For HEIs and secondary vocational schools, self-owned properties and rented properties are included in the data; the same indicators on equipment and instruments are used; secondary vocational schools are exclusive of technical schools, same below.

3. Urban refers to cities; rural means townships and villages.

4. Children of migrant workers refer to school-age children who left their home village to live with their parents and receive compulsory education in a city of which they are not registered residents. 

5. Both public and private run kindergartens.  

6. Including regular senior high schools, senior high schools for adults, and secondary vocational schools.

7. Including ordinary secondary vocational schools, vocational high schools, technical schools and polytechnic schools for adults.

8. Exclusive of technical schools.

9. According to the requirements in the Notice on the Integrated Management of Full-time and Part-time Postgraduate Programs (issued by the General Office of MOE in 2016), the criteria for postgraduate enrollment and student registration changed in 2017. As a result, current postgraduate enrollment covers both full-time and part-time programs, and the registered students consist of students in both full-time and part-time postgraduate programs. 

10. The student-teacher ratio in regular HEIs is calculated on the basis of the lower total of student numbers, excluding data from college or university branches. 

11. The average number of registered students in regular HEIs includes undergraduate students registered in regular undergraduate programs only, while excluding data from college or university branches.