Education inequality in China

Education inequality in China exists on multiple levels, with significant disparities occurring along gender, geographical, and ethnic divides.

[2] Also beginning in the 1950s, the hukou system assigned the Chinese population into urban and rural regions, exacerbating continuously worsening inequalities within health, employment, housing, and education.

[3] Further complicating education policy, people of rural-hukou status are able to live and work in urban areas without changing their hukou designation.

According to Xiaogang Wu's tabulation, based on figures from the 2000 Chinese Census, an estimated 33% of city residents were actually designated as rural-hukou holders.

[5][6] As a result, families had to pay increased tuition and fees, and schools turned to surcharges and social contributions to fund themselves.

[3] Although recent studies have shown reductions in gender inequality within Chinese education since the 1980s, disparities still remain across different regions of China.

[9] Another recent problem causing regional education disparity is the migration of a large portion of China's rural population into urban areas.

[15] Aside from enrollment rates, ethnic disparities in education have also manifested in the form of cultural marginalization, especially with the emergence of a state-sponsored curriculum that enforces assimilation.

First of all, “under which poor households have fewer material resources and children who grow up in under‐resourced families tend to lag behind in education and other fields".

According to a 2011 survey, children growing under a lower income family can face more challenges from economic hardship and this makes them more likely to drop school or have emotional problems, such as a tendency for violent and crime.

In China, parental income is one of the reasons that cause education inequality, and this cannot be neglected, based on its major influence on children's growth.

This connection is especially significant within rural communities, with education playing a large role in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

[2] However, Guangjie Ning's contrasting analysis of existing research suggests that income inequality and education equality are mutually reinforcing factors, perpetuating a vicious cycle of their own.

[3] This system of 9 year compulsory education has been partially successful in rural areas, with regions reporting very high primary-level enrollment and completion rates.

[3] Additionally, as a result of China's large population, college enrollment slots are still restricted in availability, with tuition so high that the costs far dwarf the income of a typical family in poverty.