1.OverviewoftheEducationSysteminMainlandChina

　　InChina,itisconvenienttodivideeducationinChinaintofourcategories:primaryeducation,secondaryeducation,highereducation,andadulteducation.ChinahasaCompulsoryEducationLaw.

　　TheCompulsoryEducationLaw

　　TheCompulsoryEducationLawcallsforeachchildtohavenineyearsofformaleducation.Tomeetthisrequirement,achildwillattendeitherfiveyearsofelementaryeducationfollowedbythreeyearsofjuniormiddleschool.TodayinChina,thefirstsystem,-4钬?isvirtuallynonexistent;thesecondsystem,-3钬?isfarmorecommon.

　　2.CategorieswiththeEducationSystem

　　1)PrimaryEducation

　　Primaryeducationincludespreschoolandelementaryeducation.Preschool,orkindergarten,canlastuptothreeyears,withchildrenenteringasearlyasagethree,untilagesix,whentheytypicallyenterelementaryschool.Theacademicyearisdividedintotwosemesters.

　　2)SecondaryEducation

　　Secondaryeducationisdividedintoacademicsecondaryeducationandspecialized/vocational/technicalsecondaryeducation.

　　Academicsecondaryeducationisdeliveredbyacademicloweranduppermiddleschools.

　　Lowermiddleschoolgraduateswishingtocontinuetheireducationtakealocallyadministeredentranceexam,onthebasisofwhichtheywillhavetheoptioneitherofcontinuinginanacademicuppermiddleschoolorofenteringavocationalsecondaryschool.Vocationalschoolsofferprogramsrangingfromtwotofouryearsandtrainmedium-levelskilledworkers,farmers,andmanagerialandtechnicalpersonnel.Technicalschoolstypicallyofferfour-yearsprogramstotrainintermediatetechnicalpersonnel.钬沦choolsforSkilledWorkers钬typicallytrainjuniormiddleschoolgraduatesforpositionsrequiringproductionandoperationskills.Thelengthoftrainingistypicallythreeyear.

　　3)HigherEducation

　　Highereducationattheundergraduatelevelincludestwo-andthree-yearjuniorcolleges(sometimesalsocalledshort-cyclecollegesorzhuankecolleges(),four-yearcolleges(),anduniversities()offeringprogramsinbothacademicandvocationalsubjects.Manycollegesanduniversitiesalsooffergraduateprogramsleadingtothemaster钬檚orPh.D.degree.

　　Chinesehighereducationattheundergraduatelevelisdividedintoandprograms.Zhuankeprogramsareofferednotonlyatshort-cyclecolleges,butfrequentlyalsoatfour-yearcollegesanduniversities.Benkeprogramsareofferedatfour-yearcollegesanduniversitiesbutdonotalwaysleadtothebachelor钬檚degree.

　　Myriadhighereducationopportunitiesalsofallunderthegeneralcategoryofadulteducation.

　　4)AdultEducation

　　Theadulteducationcategoryoverlapsallthreeoftheabovecategories.AdultprimaryeducationincludesWorkers钬PrimarySchools,Peasants钬PrimarySchools,andliteracyclasses.Adultsecondaryeducationincludesradio/TVspecializedsecondaryschools,specializedsecondaryschoolforcadres,specializedsecondaryschoolsforstaffandworkers,specializedsecondaryschoolsforpeasants,in-serviceteachertrainingschoolsandcorrespondencespecializedsecondaryschools.Adulthighereducationincludesradio/TVuniversities,cadreinstitutes,workers钬colleges,peasantcolleges,correspondence