4. Primary and secondary schools

　　In China, there are primary schools, junior secondary schools and senior secondary schools, offering a total of 12 years of education. Primary schools usually last five years or six years. About 35% of the primary schools last five years and 65% last six years. Junior secondary schools usually offer three-year education and only a few extends to four years (about 98% of children attend three-year junior secondary schools). The nine years from primary to junior secondary are the compulsory education period. The regular senior secondary schools usually last three years to prepare the students for further and higher education.

　　(1) Nine-year compulsory education

　　China promulgated the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Compulsory Education” in 1986. By the end of 1998, 98.9% of school-age children were enrolled in primary schools and 94.3% of the primary school students went on to junior secondary (including regular junior secondary and secondary vocational). The enrolment of junior secondary schools has reached 87.3%. About 90% of the regions in the country have made compulsory education universal and 73% of the regions have made junior secondary compulsory education universal. Large cities and coastal economically developed areas have already begun to make senior secondary education universal.

　　The Chinese government has attached much importance to compulsory education in rural areas, especially poor regions and regions inhabited by people of minorities. At present, primary and second education are primarily offered at the county, township and village levels, with the county as the principle education provider. At present, more than 95.2% of primary schools, 87.6% of junior secondary schools and 71.5% of senior secondary schools are in county towns, towns and other rural areas. In 1995-2000, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance launched a project to aid compulsory education in poor regions. The central finance earmarked 3.9 billion yuan and local governments provided 10 billion as matching funds for improving the school conditions in poor areas.

　　(2) Teaching

　　Each school year of primary and secondary schools is divided into two semesters. The teaching hours of primary school are 38 weeks, leaving one week flexible and 13 weeks as festival holidays and vacations. Junior secondary schools offer 39 teaching hours, leaving one week flexible and 12 weeks as festival holidays and vacations. The teaching hours at senior secondary school are 40 weeks, leaving 1-2 weeks flexible and 10-11 weeks as festival holidays and vacations. Primary and secondary schools all follow the five-day week system.

　　Beginning from the autumn semester of the 1993 school year, primary and secondary schools began to teach both the national curriculum and local curriculum. Local curriculum is fixed by provincial, autonomous regional and directly-administered municipalities (under the direct administration of the central government) according to actual circumstances and needs.

　　Curriculum for regular senior secondary schools is divided into statutory subjects and activities. Statutory subjects include both compulsory and optional courses. Activities include extra-curriculum activities and field study. In 1999, the Ministry of Education started to organize the designing of a new curriculum system for basic education to cater to the needs of the 21st century.

　　Children aged six may enter primary schools nearest their homes. In areas where conditions are limited, the school age may be extended to seven. In areas where junior secondary has been made compulsory, primary school students may go on to junior secondary without examination. But students after finishing junior secondary education have to pass a unified examination organized by local educational authorities to go on to senior secondary schools.

　　During the compulsory education stage, students have to go through examinations at the end of each semester, school year and at graduation to get their performances assessed. The performance assessment at the end of primary school covers language and maths and the rest are attainment check subjects. Subjects for examination after finishing junior secondary schools are to be fixed by various provinces and autonomous regions and centrally administered municipalities according to the unified requirements by the state.