China's education system today ranks first in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) that evaluates the performance of students less than 15 years of age in mathematics, science and reading. China's rise to first place in the PISA meant the fall of Finland that led this ranking. To achieve leadership in PISA, there was a great investment by the Chinese government in improving the physical and human structures as part of the necessary reform in pursuit of improved quality in education. Investment in teachers was the main impulse to accomplish this.

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CHINA EDUCATION SYSTEM
Fernando Alcoforado *
China's education system was analyzed using as a basis the content of the following
articles: 1) Estrutura do sistema de ensino na China (Education system structure in
China) available on the website <http://cursos-
internacionais.universia.net/china/sistema-educativo/estrutura. html>; 2) Sistema
Educacional na China (Educational System in China) available on the website
<http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/educacao/o-sistema-educacional-que-fez-da-china-
uma-potencia/>; 3) Xangai: qualidades e falhas do melhor sistema educacional do
mundo (Shanghai qualities and faults of the world's best educational system) available
on the website <http://noticias.terra.com.br/educacao/xangai-qualidades-e-falhas-do-
melhor-sistema-educacional-do-
mundo,91c573c590ac2410VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html>; and 4) Líder em
educação, China faz aluno estudar três vezes mais que o resto (Leader in education, China do
student to study three times more than the rest) available on the website
<http://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2013/12/lider-em-educacao-china-faz-aluno-
estudar-tres-vezes-mais-que-o-resto.html>.
China's education system is structured on three levels: 1) primary; 2) secondary; and 3)
higher education. Primary education begins at six years of age, it is compulsory and
lasts six years. Secondary education is divided, in turn, in secondary education in the
first cycle and secondary education in the second cycle. The first cycle of secondary
education usually has duration of 3 years and is mandatory. To enter the second cycle of
secondary education, which lasts for three years, students need to be approved by
relevant exams. Higher education, taught in universities, institutes and vocational
training centers has three levels: 1) vocational training; 2) university education; and 3)
post-graduate courses (master and doctorate).
The first Chinese university education that students have access after secondary
education is the undergraduate (bachelor), which has a duration of four years.
Immediately following is the master's degree that lasts for three years. Finally, the PhD,
which is the highest university level and its duration is three years. The teaching in
undergraduate levels (undergraduate) is performed in Chinese, although institutions to
an increasing effort to go international. On the other hand, universities with the largest
share of foreign students, foreign teachers teach their subjects in English, especially
those related to the business and financial environment. If they make studies in
Mandarin, foreign students have to attend one or two academic years of this language.
The school year has two semesters of about 20 weeks each. The first begins in
September and the second in February of the following year. It is mandatory to attend
classes. In China, only the compulsory levels of education - from first to ninth grade -
are free. The three years of secondary school are paid even in public schools. And even
in free levels parents should pay uniform, transportation and food. As regards the
funding of education, China has a shared-cost policy, in which students contribute a
variable percentage and dependent of their income. There is therefore students who
finance their studies themselves and to study thanks to a government grant. It is
intended to widespread access to higher education. In this regard, in recent years,
specific plans have been implemented, targeted at people with economic difficulties.
These plans include grants, exemptions or registrations or state loans reductions.

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China's education system today ranks first in the PISA (Programme for International
Student Assessment) that evaluates the performance of students less than 15 years of
age in mathematics, science and reading. China's rise to first place in the PISA meant
the fall of Finland that led this ranking. To achieve leadership in PISA, there was a great
investment by the Chinese government in improving the physical and human structures
as part of the necessary reform in pursuit of improved quality in education. Investment
in teachers was the main impulse to accomplish this. Every five years, the teacher goes
through an evaluation process to verify their level of upgrade. If teacher fail, there is the
possibility to prepare for a second round, which again failed, is reassigned to any other
school sector to undergo further evaluation, after which, if failed, is prevented from
teaching anywhere in the China.
A very significant fact draws attention: the difference between the lowest and the
highest average of students in schools is minimal, ie, all the students are very good.
There are a lot of organization, discipline, individual studies, investment structure,
academic content, sports and arts, plus much family support. There aren´t problems of
indiscipline in schools. Chinese parents are very strict with their children's education,
believe in the school, are partners and respect the teacher. It can be said that China's
education climbed first in the PISA because has a very structured curriculum in a
scientific way, favoring the healthy physical and mental development of students,
comprehensive training of teachers, joining forces and wills between government,
education professionals, students and parents. For the Chinese, knowledge has no
country and speaks a unique language and so humbly sent its employees to various parts
of the world in search of best teaching practices.
In China, there is an almost obsessive appreciation for education which is a value shared
by the whole Chinese society. Despite the limited income of the parents, they are paying
the strengthening of school children and also his studies. The government only gives the
books. The Chinese education system is very competitive and there are numerous tests
throughout the various stages of the system. Nevertheless, school failure levels are very
low and the literacy rate exceeds 94%, according to World Bank data. As well as other
Asian education systems, the Chinese tend to focus on the calculation and memorization
and not in creativity, analysis and the ability of expression. In Asia, they usually
promote more calculating and memorization of the content rather than analytical skills,
imagination and personal initiative. Beside this education system is added in China a lot
of pressure from parents, teachers and society in general, for young people, often only
one children, achieve academic success that allows them to compete for good work in
the most populated country of world. This pressure, combined with a large number of
hours of such intense study that don´t leaves free time for anything else, can harm the
healthy development of personality and social skills of students.
*Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e
Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e

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combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011),
Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and
Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2015).