In 2018, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the education system guided by Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implemented the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the National Education Conference, adhered to the general tone of steady progress, and pursued high-quality development. The system promoted educational priority development and fulfilled the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent by launching the 'Writing the Chapter of Educational Progress' action. Significant breakthroughs were made in various aspects of educational reform and development, achieving notable accomplishments at all levels of education. These achievements propelled the country closer to its goals of accelerating modernization in education, building an education powerhouse, and providing satisfactory education for the people.
I. Overview
There were a total of 518,800 schools at all levels across the country, an increase of 5,017 from the previous year, representing a growth of 0.98%; the total number of students enrolled in all levels of education was 276 million, an increase of 5.394 million from the previous year, or 2.00%; and the number of full-time teachers was 16.7285 million, an increase of 459,600 from the previous year, or 2.83%.
II. Preschool Education
There were a total of 266,700 kindergartens across the country, an increase of 11,700 from the previous year, representing a growth of 4.60%. The number of children enrolled in preschool education decreased by 740,400 to 18.6391 million, a decline of 3.82%; while the number of children currently attending kindergarten increased by 562,800 to 46.5642 million, a growth of 1.22%. The number of staff in kindergartens was 4.5315 million, an increase of 338,600 from the previous year, or 8.08%; and the number of full-time teachers was 2.5814 million, an increase of 149,200 from the previous year, or 6.14%. The gross enrollment rate in preschool education reached 81.7%, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the previous year.
III. Compulsory Education
There were a total of 213,800 schools at the compulsory education stage in China, enrolling 34,698,900 students and having 150 million students enrolled, with 97.309 million full-time teachers. The gross enrollment ratio for nine years of compulsory education was 94.2%.
1. Primary School
There were a total of 161,800 ordinary primary schools in China, a decrease of 52,000 from the previous year, representing a decline of 3.11%. Additionally, there were 101,400 teaching points for primary schools, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous year. A total of 18,673,000 students were enrolled, an increase of 1,007,400 from the previous year, representing a growth of 5.70%; there were 103,392,500 students enrolled, an increase of 2,455,600 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.43%; and 16,164,900 graduates, an increase of 505,900 from the previous year, representing a growth of 3.23%. The net enrollment rate for primary school-aged children reached 99.95%.
There were 57.325 million staff members in primary schools, an increase of 87,200 from the previous year, representing a growth of 1.54%; among them, 6.0919 million full-time teachers, an increase of 147,000 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.47%. The qualification rate for full-time teachers' academic credentials was 99.97%, an increase of 0.01 percentage points from the previous year. The student-to-teacher ratio was 16.97:1.
The gross floor area of school buildings in ordinary primary schools (including teaching points) was 78,619.53 million square meters, an increase of 3,531.07 million square meters from the previous year. The proportion of schools meeting standards for facilities and equipment was as follows: 88.47% for sports fields (gyms), 94.23% for sports equipment, 93.89% for music equipment, 93.70% for art equipment, and 93.72% for science and mathematics laboratory equipment. All these proportions increased from the previous year.
2. Junior High School
There were a total of 52,000 junior high schools across the country (including 11 vocational junior high schools), an increase of 88 from the previous year, representing a growth of 0.17%. The number of students enrolled was 16,025,900, an increase of 553,700 from the previous year, or 3.58%; the number of students in school was 46,525,900, an increase of 2,105,200 from the previous year, or 4.74%; and the number of graduates was 13,677,700, a decrease of 297,000 from the previous year, or 2.13%. The gross enrollment ratio for junior high school was 100.9%.
There were 4,193,800 staff members in junior high schools, an increase of 115,700 from the previous year, or 2.84%. Among them, there were 3,639,000 full-time teachers, an increase of 90,300 from the previous year, or 2.54%. The qualification rate for full-time teachers in terms of academic credentials was 99.86%, an increase of 0.03 percentage points from the previous year. The student-to-teacher ratio was 12.79:1.
The total floor area of school buildings in junior high schools was 64,368.13 million square meters, an increase of 3,361.39 million square meters from the previous year. The proportion of schools meeting standards for facility and equipment included: 92.58% for sports fields (gyms), 95.91% for sports equipment, 95.45% for music equipment, 95.21% for art equipment, and 95.64% for science laboratory equipment. All proportions increased from the previous year.
3. Migrant Workers' Children
There were a total of 14,240,400 migrant workers' children enrolled in compulsory education across the country. Among them, 10,483,900 were enrolled in primary school and 3,756,500 were enrolled in junior high school.
IV. Special Education
There were a total of 2,152 special education schools nationwide, an increase of 45 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.14%. These schools employed 58,700 full-time teachers, an increase of 2,700 from the previous year, marking a growth of 4.78%.
A total of 123,500 students with various forms of special education were enrolled nationwide, an increase of 12,700 from the previous year, representing a growth of 11.43%. The number of students in special education programs was 665,900, an increase of 87,100 from the previous year, marking a growth of 15.05%. Among them, there were 3,316 students in attached special education classes, accounting for 0.50% of the total number of special education students; 329,100 students received special education in regular classrooms, accounting for 49.41% of the total number of special education students; and 116,400 students received home-based instruction, accounting for 17.48% of the total number of special education students.
Five, Secondary Education
There were a total of 24,300 secondary schools nationwide, a decrease of 298 from the previous year, representing a decline of 1.21%. The number of students enrolled was 13,497,600, a decrease of 327,300 from the previous year, marking a decline of 2.37%. The total number of students in secondary education was 39,346,700, a decrease of 363,200 from the previous year, representing a decline of 0.91%. The gross enrollment ratio for secondary education was 88.8%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.
1. General High Schools
There were a total of 13,700 general high schools nationwide, an increase of 182 from the previous year, representing a growth of 1.34%. The number of students enrolled was 7,927,100, a decrease of 73,500 from the previous year, marking a decline of 0.92%. The total number of students in general high schools was 23,753,700, an increase of 8,200 from the previous year, representing a growth of 0.03%. The number of graduates was 7,792,400, an increase of 35,200 from the previous year, marking a growth of 0.45%.
There were 2,742,500 staff members in general high schools, an increase of 77,400 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.91%. The number of full-time teachers was 1,812,600, an increase of 38,600 from the previous year, marking a growth of 2.18%. The student-to-teacher ratio was 13.10:1; the percentage of full-time teachers with qualified academic qualifications was 98.41%, an increase of 0.26 percentage points from the previous year.
The total floor area of school buildings in ordinary high schools was 54,206.05 million square meters, an increase of 2,694.31 million square meters from the previous year. The proportion of schools meeting standards for various facilities and equipment were as follows: 91.77% for sports fields (gyms), 93.84% for sports equipment, 92.71% for music equipment, 92.91% for art equipment, and 93.70% for science laboratory equipment.
2. Adult High School
There were 354 adult high schools nationwide, a decrease of 38 from the previous year; with 40,300 students enrolled and 36,000 graduates. The number of staff was 2,633, including 2,129 full-time teachers.
3. Secondary Vocational Education
There were a total of 10,200 secondary vocational schools nationwide, a decrease of 442 from the previous year, representing a 4.14% decline. Among these, there were 3,322 ordinary secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 24; 1,097 adult secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 121; 3,431 vocational high schools, a decrease of 186; and 2,379 technical schools, a decrease of 111.
Enrollment in secondary vocational education was 5,570,500 students, a decrease of 253,800 from the previous year, or a 4.36% decline, accounting for 41.27% of total enrollment in secondary education. This included 2,419,300 students in ordinary secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 43,100; 462,500 students in adult secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 106,300; 1,403,200 students in vocational high schools, a decrease of 80,800; and 1,285,500 students in technical schools, a decrease of 23,600.
The total number of students enrolled in secondary vocational education was 15,552,600, a decrease of 372,300 from the previous year, or a 2.34% decline, accounting for 39.53% of total enrollment in secondary education. This included 6,994,200 students in ordinary secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 135,700; 1,131,300 students in adult secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 141,200; 4,010,800 students in vocational high schools, a decrease of 129,700; and 3,416,400 students in technical schools, an increase of 34,300.
The number of graduates from secondary vocational education was 4,872,800, a decrease of 96,000 from the previous year, or a 1.93% decline. This included 2,185,900 graduates from ordinary secondary specialized schools, an increase of 15,900; 511,000 graduates from adult secondary specialized schools, a decrease of 93,100; 1,272,900 graduates from vocational high schools, a decrease of 17,000; and 903,000 graduates from technical schools, a decrease of 18,000.
Secondary vocational education institutions had a total of 1.0663 million staff members, a decrease of 13,400 from the previous year, representing a decline of 1.24%. Among them, secondary specialized schools had 397,500 staff members, an increase of 693 from the previous year; adult secondary specialized schools had 51,900 staff members, a decrease of 7,799 from the previous year; vocational high schools had 339,500 staff members, a decrease of 4,311 from the previous year; and technical schools had 266,700 staff members, a decrease of 1,854 from the previous year.
Secondary vocational education institutions had a total of 833,500 full-time teachers, a decrease of 5,677 from the previous year, representing a decline of 0.68%, with a student-to-teacher ratio[17] of 19.10:1. Among them, secondary specialized schools had 305,000 full-time teachers, an increase of 3,382 from the previous year; adult secondary specialized schools had 39,500 full-time teachers, a decrease of 5,263 from the previous year; vocational high schools had 283,000 full-time teachers, a decrease of 3,057 from the previous year; and technical schools had 198,100 full-time teachers, a decrease of 740 from the previous year.
Higher Education
The total scale of higher education enrollment in China reached 38.33 million students, with a gross enrollment ratio of 48.1%. There were a total of 2,663 institutions of higher learning (including 265 independent colleges), an increase of 32 from the previous year, representing a growth of 1.22%. Among them, there were 1,245 undergraduate institutions, an increase of 2 from the previous year; and 1,418 vocational colleges and technical schools, an increase of 30 from the previous year. There were 277 adult higher education institutions, a decrease of 5 from the previous year; and 815 graduate training institutions, including 580 ordinary universities and 235 research institutes. The average scale of ordinary higher education institutions was 10,605 students, with undergraduate institutions averaging 14,896 students and vocational colleges and technical schools averaging 6,837 students.
A total of 858,000 graduate students were enrolled, including 739,300 full-time students. Among them, 95,500 doctoral students and 762,500 master's students were enrolled. There were 2.7313 million graduate students in total, with 389,500 doctoral students and 2.3417 million master's students. A total of 604,400 graduates were produced, including 60,700 doctoral graduates and 543,600 master's graduates.
A total of 7.9099 million students enrolled in ordinary higher education institutions, an increase of 295,000 from the previous year, representing a growth of 3.87%; the number of students was 28.3103 million, an increase of 774,500 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.81%; and the number of graduates was 7.5331 million, an increase of 174,800 from the previous year, representing a growth of 2.38%.
Enrollment in adult undergraduate and vocational programs increased to 273.31 million students, up by 55.78 million from the previous year, a growth of 25.64%; the number of on-campus students reached 590.99 million, an increase of 46.84 million from the previous year, representing an 8.61% rise; graduates numbered 217.74 million, a decrease of 29.30 million from the previous year, or 11.86%.
The national higher education self-study examination for academic qualifications had 544.69 million examinees, with 48.72 million obtaining graduation certificates.
There were 248.75 million staff members in ordinary higher education institutions, an increase of 4.45 million from the previous year, or a growth of 1.82%; among them, there were 167.28 million full-time teachers, an increase of 3.95 million from the previous year, representing a 2.42% rise. The student-to-teacher ratio in ordinary higher education institutions was 17.56:1, with 17.42:1 for undergraduate institutions and 17.89:1 for vocational (undergraduate) institutions. In adult higher education institutions, the number of staff members decreased to 38,000, a reduction of 3,381 from the previous year; among them, there were 21,900 full-time teachers, a decrease of 2,082 from the previous year.
The total floor area of buildings in ordinary higher education institutions was 97,713.56 million square meters, an increase of 2,313.23 million square meters from the previous year; the total value of teaching and research instruments and equipment was 553.306 billion yuan, up by 53.77 billion yuan from the previous year.
Seven: Private Education
There were a total of 183,500 private schools and institutions at all levels, an increase of 5,815 from the previous year, accounting for 35.36% of the national total; enrollment increased to 177,975,000 students, up by 578,900 from the previous year, a growth of 3.36%; the number of students in all types of education reached 53,782,100, an increase of 2,577,400 from the previous year, or 5.03%. Among them:
There were 165,800 private kindergartens, an increase of 5,407 from the previous year, or a growth of 3.37%; the number of children enrolled decreased to 9,972,600, a reduction of 20,600 from the previous year, or 0.21%; the number of children in attendance increased to 26,397,800, an increase of 674,400 from the previous year, or 2.62%.
There were 6,179 privately-run primary schools, an increase of 72 from the previous year, representing a growth of 1.18%; admissions reached 15.531 million students, up by 1.761 million, or 12.79% compared to the previous year; and there were 884.57 million students enrolled, an increase of 70.4 million, or 8.65% from the previous year.
There were 5,462 privately-run junior high schools, an increase of 185 from the previous year, representing a growth of 3.51%; admissions reached 23.047 million students, up by 2.138 million, or 10.22% compared to the previous year; and there were 636.3 million students enrolled, an increase of 58.62 million, or 10.15% from the previous year.
There were 3,216 privately-run general high schools, an increase of 214 from the previous year, representing a growth of 7.13%; admissions reached 11.695 million students, up by 0.554 million, or 4.97% compared to the previous year; and there were 328.27 million students enrolled, an increase of 22.01 million, or 7.19% from the previous year.
There were 1,993 privately-run secondary vocational schools (including 265 independent colleges and 1 adult college), a decrease of 76 from the previous year. Admissions reached 8.123 million students, an increase of 0.255 million, or 3.24% compared to the previous year; and there were 209.7 million students enrolled, an increase of 12.37 million, or 6.27% from the previous year. There were 735 postgraduate students and 1,490 postgraduates in training.
There were 750 private higher-education institutions, including 265 independent colleges and one adult higher-education institution, an increase of three from the previous year. General undergraduate and junior-college enrollment reached 1.8394 million, up by 85,700 or 4.89%; total enrollment reached 6.4960 million, up by 211,400 or 3.36%. Master's-program admissions numbered 735, with 1,490 students enrolled.
Notes:
[1] All statistical data exclude the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan Province. Some discrepancies may arise due to rounding.
[2][3] Includes children in independently established kindergartens and attached kindergarten classes.
[4] Gross enrollment ratio refers to the percentage of students enrolled in a level of education, regardless of age, out of the population of the corresponding age group. Due to the inclusion of non-standard age group students (underage or overage), the gross enrollment ratio may exceed 100%.
[5] Compulsory education consolidation rate refers to the percentage of junior high school graduates in a grade relative to the number of students who entered primary school in that grade.
Net enrollment rate for school-age children in primary education refers to the percentage of the school-age population enrolled in primary education out of the total population in the age group prescribed by the state for primary education, calculated separately according to different enrollment ages and school systems in various regions.
Because the number of faculty and staff in nine-year integrated schools is counted under junior secondary education, and that in complete secondary schools and twelve-year integrated schools is counted under senior secondary education, while full-time teachers are classified by educational level, there are cases where the data on primary school faculty and staff is smaller than that on full-time teachers.
Includes full-time teachers in the primary education stage of nine-year integrated schools and twelve-year integrated schools.
The qualification rate of full-time teachers' educational background refers to the percentage of full-time teachers meeting the minimum educational requirements prescribed by the state at a certain educational level out of the total number of full-time teachers at that level. The minimum educational requirements for teachers at each level refer to the relevant provisions of the Teachers Law of the People's Republic of China: to obtain a primary school teacher qualification, one should have a diploma from a secondary normal school or above; to obtain a junior secondary school teacher or a cultural or professional course teacher qualification in a junior vocational school, one should have a diploma from a higher normal junior college or other junior college or above; to obtain a senior secondary school teacher qualification or a cultural or professional course teacher qualification in a secondary specialized school, technical school, or vocational high school, one should have a bachelor's degree from a higher normal institution or other university or above.
Schools with qualified facilities and equipment refer to those where the area of sports fields (halls) and the provision of sports equipment meet the relevant standards of the 'Notice on Printing and Distributing the Trial Basic Standards for National School Sports and Health Conditions' (Jiao Ti Yi [2008] No. 5) issued by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Finance; and where the provision of music equipment, art equipment, mathematics and natural science experimental instruments, and science experimental instruments, etc., meet the relevant standards for instrument provision prescribed by each province, autonomous region, and municipality directly under the Central Government. Includes ordinary primary schools, junior secondary schools, and ordinary senior secondary schools.
Includes full-time teachers in the junior secondary education stage of nine-year integrated schools, twelve-year integrated schools, and complete secondary schools.
[12] Children of migrant workers who move with their parents refer to school-age children and adolescents whose household registration is in rural areas of other provinces (regions, municipalities) or other counties (districts) within the same province, who move with their working parents to urban or town areas (living together) in the destination location and receive compulsory education.
[13] Includes students in special education schools, attached special education classes, regular classes, and those receiving home-delivered education.
[14] Includes students in special education schools, regular primary schools, and junior high schools receiving home-delivered education.
[15] The high school stage includes regular high schools, adult high schools, and secondary vocational schools.
[16] Secondary vocational education includes general secondary specialized schools, vocational high schools, technical schools, and adult secondary specialized schools.
[17] The student-to-teacher ratio for secondary vocational education does not include data from technical schools.
[18] This includes the total number of students enrolled in various forms of higher education such as graduate studies, general undergraduate and vocational bachelor's and associate degree programs, adult undergraduate and associate degree programs, online undergraduate and associate degree programs, and higher education self-study exams.
[19] The average size of general higher education institutions only includes the number of full-time undergraduate and vocational students, excluding data from branch campuses.
[20] The student-to-teacher ratio for general higher education institutions does not include data from branch campuses, with the total student population being the equivalent student count.
[21][22] This includes school-owned and non-school-owned independent use.
