EducationintheChinaisastate-runsystemofpubliceducationrunbytheMinistryofEducation.Allcitizensmustattendschoolforatleastnineyears.Thegovernmentprovidesprimaryeducationforsixyears,startingatagesixorseven,followedbysixyearsofsecondaryeducationforages12to18.[clarificationneeded]Someprovincesmayhavefiveyearsofprimaryschoolbutfouryearsformiddleschool.Therearethreeyearsofmiddleschoolandthreeyearsofhighschool.TheMinistryofEducationreporteda99percentattendancerateforprimaryschoolandan80percentrateforbothprimaryandmiddleschoolsIn1985,thegovernmentabolishedtax-fundedhighereducation,requiringuniversityapplicantstocompeteforscholarshipsbasedonacademicability.Intheearly1980sthegovernmentallowedtheestablishmentofthefirstprivateschools.

　　Chinahashadamajorexpansionineducation,increasingthenumberofundergraduatesandpeoplewhoholddoctoraldegreesfivefoldin10years.[4]In2003Chinasupported1,552institutionsofhigherlearning(collegesanduniversities)andtheir725,000professorsand11millionstudents.Thereareover100NationalKeyUniversities,includingBeijingUniversityandTsinghuaUniversity.Chinesespendinghasgrownby20%peryearsince1999,nowreachingover$100bn,andasmanyas1.5millionscienceandengineeringstudentsgraduatedfromChineseuniversitiesin2006.Chinapublished184,080papersasof2008.[5]

　　LawsregulatingthesystemofeducationincludetheRegulationonAcademicDegrees,theCompulsoryEducationLaw,theTeachersLaw,theEducationLaw,theLawonVocationalEducation,andtheLawonHigherEducation.