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Jessica Liu
Greene
Capstone -7th
21 October 2016
Chinese Education Reforms
Although the current Chinese education system ranks high globally for their academic
performance, China is finally seeing the detrimental effects that their rigid education system has
on their society. Their education system is highly praised by residents overseas, but individuals
within the Chinese education system, specially individuals in rural areas, are not receiving the
benefits of their great education system due to the governments lack of equal allocation of
resources. Even the elite find themselves trapped since they arent acquiring a well rounded
education which leads many students to study abroad in countries like the U.S. The Chinese
education system is also known to limit creativity from a young age which creates a multitude of
problems in higher education and in the working environment. In order for China to improve
their education system, proper measures need to be taken by the Chinese government to produce
well-rounded students needed for the future of China to prosper economically and socially.
The Chinese government allocates a huge portion of their yearly budget to improve
education. However, the resources and funds that are set aside for students are usually given to
schools that perform well on standardized testing. In higher income areas, academics are usually
a priority because families are able to provide their children with the necessary tutors and
resources to help them do better in school. In comparison, students in lower income areas are
unable to improve academically because they do not have the necessary resources to succeed.

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This further widens the gap between children in high-income areas compared to rural areas
because children in rural areas arent necessarily getting enough resources to improve their
economic state. Children in rural areas are also focused on finding jobs and providing for their
families instead of education. But the problem with the funding for education isnt due to the
limited amount of funds and resources that are available but rather than the way their resources
are allocated. While increased educational spending might improve the situation, the World
Bank suggested in 1986 that efficient use of available resources, rather than absolute funding,
might be the key problem (Martinson). The government must actively take part to implement
policies that will benefit the whole population. Otherwise, the huge disparity between city
children and rural children in terms of education will continue to grow. Although China test
scores rank very high globally, their literacy rate is only 75% which is very low compared to
other more developed nations (Martinson). This ultimately shows how the portion of Chinas
elite population cannot model their entire education system as a whole. To really improve the
Chinese education system, the Chinese government must ensure that their system is centralized
so that all students receive a proper education.
China has began making reforms to their education system over the years to help them
accommodate globally by placing emphasis on higher education leading to massive funding for
their top institutions. But students within these institutions are unhappy because the Chinese
education limits their creativity within their schooling years thus creating problems later on
which leads many students to study abroad to gain other perspectives. And the reason why China
are focused on students in higher education is because they believe that the students of these
institutions are the future of Chinas economic success. The educational activity undertaken by

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students participating in higher education implies a large investment in human capital for China.
This is reflected not only in the time spent in education once admitted to the institution, but also
in the time spent in obtaining entry into the educational institutions (Li, Yao, Whalley, Zhang,
and Zhao). But even in the top institutions, students find that extra funds cannot provide the
necessary education for them to succeed within the real work place. This is why the U.S is seeing
an influx of Chinese students in their universities in fields such as business and the arts because
the Chinese education system does not provide a hands on-education. In fields such as business
and the arts, the ability to be self-sufficient in your work is essential. Because Chinese education
is not self-stimulating, China is beginning to see many students turning toward a American
education. The highest percentage of study abroad students in the U.S are mainland Chinese
students (Mazzarol). The Chinese government may be providing extra funds for their
institutions but the problem does not lie in funding but rather than it education system itself. In
order for Chinese students to thrive, their education system must give them enough room to be
self-sufficient.
One of the main problems of the Chinese education system is that it limits creativity
within their school curriculum. From the early ages of their education students are taught to be
test takers rather than critical thinkers. This is why U.S universities rank higher than Chinese
universities compared to secondary education where Chinese students outperform American
students. In higher education, students need critical thinking skill for research, internships, and
discussions. If students are trained to only take exam and listen to lectures, students are limited to
what they can accomplish in the Chinese education system. But the root of the exam-oriented
Chinese education can be accounted to Confucian times where scholars were admitted based on

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their performance on the civil service exam. Since the foundation of New China, the main way
of selecting talents has been the test system. Exam-oriented education system has resulted in
deviation from the training objective, "improving the quality of students comprehensively"
(Yue). This is why it is so difficult for China to reform their education system because these
Confucian values have been embedded for centuries. Because creativity was never emphasized
in the past as the pathway to success, the modern Chinese education system follows the same
mindset. Even in Chinese art education, students are required to take a test to be admitted into a
art university compared to the U.S where students bring in portfolios of their own work (Yue).
The fact that they set boundaries on what is considered art shows how limited their education
system is in fostering creativity. Overall, the lack of creativity during their normal years of
schooling creates a problem of being able to critically think to real word problems. The
government needs to take small steps to deviate themselves from their traditional Confucian
mindset in order to accommodate globally.
The Chinese education system may be praised internationally for their achievements for
academics, but reforms need to be made to push China into the modern era. The Chinese
government needs to better allocate their resources to help provided all students with the
necessary resources to succeed. But their problem also lies within the their education system to
give students enough freedom and creativity to take advantage of those resources given. In order
to improve the conditions of the Chinese education system, the Chinese government must take a
more active stance in creating policies for reforms.

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Works Cited

Li, Yao, John Whalley Shunming Zhang, and Xiliang Zhao."THE TRANSFORMATION OF
CHINAS HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS."
Nottingham, UK: University of Nottingham, China Policy Institute (2009).
Martinson, Donna J. "A Look at the Educational System in The People's Republic of China and
the Impact of Changing Governmental Ideology." The Wichita State University. The
Wichita State University (1993).
Mazzarol, Tim, and Geoffrey N. Soutar. "Push-pull factors influencing international student
destination choice." International Journal of Educational Management 16.2 (2002):
82-90.
Yue, Youxi. "On the Problems Existed in Chinese Art Education and the Way Out."
International
Education Studies 2.3 (2009): 103-105.