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Education |
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 Education in ProgressIn 2004, 820,000 students were enrolled in graduate schools, including 326,000 new entrants and 151,000 completing their graduate programs. There were 13.335 million undergraduates enrolled in institutions of higher learning, including 4.473 million new entrants, and 2.391 million who were completing their undergraduate courses. Secondary vocational or technical schools of various types had an enrollment of 13.679 million students, including 5.481  million new entrants and 3.51 million graduating students. Regular senior secondary schools had an enrollment of 22.204 million students, including 8.215 million new entrants and 5.469 million graduating students. Students enrolled in junior secondary schools totaled 64.75 million, including 20.782 million new entrants and 20.704 million who were completing their junior secondary school courses. Pupils enrolled in primary schools numbered 112.462 million, including 17.47 million new entrants and 21.352 million graduating students. There were 372,000 students in special education schools, including 51,000 new entrants. Kindergartens accommodated 20.844 million children.Sound Development of Higher Education The number of students in various types of institutions of higher learning exceeded 20 million in 2004, with a 19-percent gross enrollment rate in higher education. Meanwhile, regular vocational colleges enrolled 5.957 million students, an increase of more than 1 million over 2003. The employment situation for fresh graduates was also good. Up to September 1, 2004, the employment rate for students graduating from regular institutions of higher learning nationwide stood at 73 percent, an increase of 3 percentage points year on year. Strengthening Compulsory Education in Rural Areas In 2004, special funds earmarked by the Central Government for compulsory education in rural areas amounted to 10 billion yuan, up 72 percent over 2003. The Central Government also allocated special funds for free textbooks to 24 million students from poor families in central and western regions for the duration of compulsory education. In July 2004, the state launched the construction of boarding schools in rural areas. The Central Government has invested 10 billion yuan for building 7,730 boarding schools in 955 counties mainly in the western regions and other poverty-stricken areas. These schools, expected to be completed in four years, are aimed at meeting the boarding requirements of 2.03 million students. Chinese Students Studying Abroad in 2004 According to statistics of the Ministry of Education, the number of Chinese students studying abroad totaled 114,663 in 2004, dropping 2.2 percent compared with 2003. Among these students, 3,524 were sponsored by the government and 6,858 by state-owned enterprises, rising 2 percent year on year. The number of self-supported students was 104,281, a decline of 4.4 percent year on year. By contrast, returning students from overseas numbered 25,116 in 2004, growing 24.6 percent over the previous year. Of this figure, the number of those financed by the government and state-owned enterprises was 2,761 and 3,965, respectively. The number of self-financed students of 18,390 represented a 27.5 percent increase over 2003. This was the second consecutive year when the number of returning students from overseas exceeded 20,000 since China increased its number of students studying abroad in 1978. From 1978 to the end of 2004, a total of 814,884 Chinese had gone abroad for study, with 197,884 returning. Of the rest 617,000 people, 427,000 are studying in educational institutions, engaged in research projects or are on academic visits. |
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