The Law of the People's Republic of China
on Education promulgated in 1995 stipulated that China shall implement adult
education system.
The main functions of China's adult education are
as follows:
1. to provide education and training of
cultural knowledge, professional skills and practical ability for those who have
become parts of the work force or those who may switch to new jobs and those
job-seekers who have not met job requirements;
2. to provide literacy for the
illiterates;
3. to continuously provide basic or higher
education for those who have left formal schools, taking into consideration
their cultural basis and actual needs. Graduation Certificates are issued to
those who are qualified;
4. to provide continuous education for those
professional technical or management personnel who have received higher
education, with the purpose of renewing and enriching their knowledge and
enhancing their ability;
5. to conduct diversified education of
social culture or living, activities such as elementary knowledge of law, health
of women and children, health of senior citizens, family life, fine
art/calligraphy, beauty care, cooking/nutrition, flower-planting, etc.; to
provide educational service of civilized, healthy, and scientific life-style for
the elders, women and all citizens.
Adult schools usually consist of the
following: education radio and television universities, institutions of higher
learning for workers and peasants, colleges for management personnel, education
institutes, independent correspondence colleges, adult education offered by
regular institutions of higher education (correspondence departments, evening
universities, advanced training for teachers), TV education via satellite as
well as the system of examinations for self-taught students at higher level.
Elementary intermediate adult education can also be conducted in places like
secondary professional training schools, adult middle schools, technical schools
for peasants, agricultural schools of radio and television as well as
self-taught examination system at secondary level.
Statistics show that there are 962
independently established institutions of adult education with 200,390 faculty
and staff members. 1,311 regular institutions of adult education organize
correspondence programs and evening schools for academic education. There are
over 400,000 secondary schools and 180,000 primary schools for
adults.