Abstract
China is a big investor inn education. Education in the country dates back over 500 years ago when local communities educated their people on culture and how to survive using innovation. The education system is given a lot of emphasis because people believe it is the basis of success for the nation, family and the individual. The education system of China has undergone many reforms over time to ensure education offered is quality and that everyone has access to it. Today, the Chinese education system is ranked among the best because students spend over 16 years learning and preparing to be professionals in different fields of study. However, the Chinese education system is not flawless.
The education system of China is highly distorted in terms of opportunities. Some students, especially those with talent apart from academic performance, the ones who live in rural areas and other cities apart from Beijing. The government has formulated policies that favour urban areas learners and ignored those in rural areas. These flaws need to be addressed to ensure that all students have access to education. The education system should also be reformed to ensure that talents are recognized.
China places a lot of emphasis on education. Their education system is the determinant of who in the country qualifies to take on top jobs and opportunities. In China, education assures one of a future for themselves, their family and nation. The Chinese government puts a lot of emphasis on education. In 2010-2011, the government allocated 3248.6 billion of the Chinese currency to education. Currently, 4 percent of the GDP is invested in education. The Chinese government provides the basic education for the first nine years. Despite the benefits and efficiency of the Chinese education system, it still lags behind in terms of several important factors.
The education system is skewed because of their method of selecting persons with talent. In China, the only method of select a talented persons is by looking at their academic performance. The huge emphasis placed on exams creates a crisis in determining who is best suited for a job. Talent comes in different forms, most of which cannot be measured by academic performance. This approach of testing individuals by their mark is not scientific. Knowledge that is examined is usually a small fraction of the syllabus. There is a possibility that some students know all the other knowledge in the syllabus except the one that came in the exam. This creates a disadvantage for students who know most of the syllabus apart from what is examined. On the other hand, there are students who know little about the syllabus but happen to know the little that is set in the examination. Therefore, it is possible that talented individuals end up failing while those who are not pass just because of the skewed education system.
The Chinese education system operates under an unfair policy. The level of education in various provinces differs. For example, the level of education in Beijing, China’s capital, is very low compared to other cities and provinces in China. However, the loose national policy in China gives students in Beijing an upper hand over those in other cities. The Beijing students have a greater chance of joining college than those from other regions. The government does not give any explanation to this skewed system and policy. The government should take initiative to adjust the law so that students across the whole nation have equal opportunities of joining higher education institutions.
The Chinese education lacks uniformity. The Chinese government invests in the education of young people for the first nine years. Beyond this stage, the education system does not give a clear direction for students. Every province has its educations system, which creates confusion. Some provinces have five years while others have six years of secondary education. This situation is a potential crisis. Students who take a shorter time to complete their education just because they learnt in a different province will have advantage over the others. The government should ensure that every region has a uniform education system so that students have equal opportunities when the join and finish school.
The level of education in the rural areas of China is quite appalling. The rural population makes up the majority of China’s total population but the standards of education are poor. The government does not invest fully in education in rural areas. This makes the rural population short sighted. The young people in these areas cannot exploit their potential through education if the government does not make reforms and develop rural education systems. This is also a way of creating inequality in the education system hence; making the education of china counterproductive. Every Chinese child needs opportunities regardless of area of residence.
The Chinese government abolished tax funding for higher education in 1985. This forced all students wishing to join universities to compete for limited scholarships based on merit. However, the high number of students in China today means that some students whose academic prowess is undoubtedly high miss out on scholarships due to limited chances. This is an inefficient system that must be amended to give all students access to higher education.
Over-emphasis on academic performance in the Chinese system is also an Achilles heel in the education system. Students are only assessed based on their score in class rather than on their co-curricular activities such as sports, arts and other talents. This system discourages students who have talents from exploiting them, and opting to concentrate on studies. However, most students who have talent do not perform well in academics. Therefore, there is need to make the education system more suited t students with other talents apart from academics.
Therefore, the Chinese education system does not provide optimal benefits to learners. There are disparities in education systems of different provinces. There is over-emphasis on academic performance while talents are ignored. Furthermore, scholarships to universities are limited yet there is no tax fund to sponsor students. The education system requires reforms so that learners in rural areas benefit equally as those in urban areas. The policy should also provide for equal opportunity for students in Beijing and other cities. These reforms would improve the education of China to a new level hence; improving the nation’s future innovation and growth.
Works Cited
Hayhoe, Ruth. Contemporary Chinese education. illustrated. New York: Routledge, 1984.
Peterson, Glen D and Hayhoe Ruth. Education, Culture, and Identity in Twentieth-century China. Boston: University of Michigan Press, 2001.
Warrior Tours. Education. 05 January 2012. 17 April 2013.
