Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China

Chapter V Instruction and Teaching

Article 34 Instruction and teaching shall be carried out in conformity with the pattern of education and the characteristics of students’ physical and mental development, be oriented to the need of all students and designed to impart knowledge to them by organically integrating moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic education in instruction and teaching, with special attention paid to developing their ability of independent thinking, creativity and practice, in order to enable them to develop in an all-round way.

Article 35 The administrative department for education under the State Council shall, on the basis of the physical and mental development of school-age children and adolescents and the actual conditions, determine the teaching system, the contents of instruction and teaching and curriculums, reform the examination system and improve the method of student enrollment by senior secondary schools, in order to promote qualities-oriented education.

Schools and teachers shall conduct instruction and teaching in accordance with the determined contents of instruction and teaching and curriculums and ensure that the requirements specified by the State in respect of the essential qualities are met.

The State encourages schools and teachers to adopt such methods of instruction and teaching as the elicitation method, in order to improve the quality of instruction and teaching.

Article 36 Schools shall put moral education in the first place and embodying moral education in instruction and teaching, carry out social practices that are suited to the ages of the students, thus to form a system for ideological and ethical education in which the school, family and society cooperate with each other and help students cultivate good ideology and moral character and a good habit of conduct.

Article 37 Schools shall guarantee the students time for extracurricular activities and organize extracurricular cultural and recreation activities, etc. Public cultural and sports facilities shall be made convenient for schools to carry out extracurricular activities.

Article 38 Textbooks shall be compiled in compliance with the educational policy and curricular standards of the State, and their contents shall be simplified by selecting the essential, basic knowledge and skills, the textbooks shall be affordable and of practical use, and their quality shall be guaranteed.

Staff members of government departments and the persons responsible for examining textbooks shall not participate in compiling textbooks or do so in disguised form.

Article 39 The State practices an examination and approval system for textbooks. The measures for examination and approval of textbooks shall be formulated by the administrative department for education under the State Council.

Textbooks which have not been examined and for which no approval has been obtained shall not be published or used.

Article 40 The criterion prices for textbooks shall be fixed under the principle of minimum profits by the administrative department for pricing under the State Council together with the administrative department for publication. The prices for their retail shall be fixed on the basis of the criterion prices by the administrative departments for pricing of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, together with the administrative departments for publication.

Article 41 The State encourages cyclical use of textbooks.

Chapter VI Guarantee of Funds

Article 42 The State places compulsory education completely within the scope of financial guarantee, and the funds for compulsory education shall be guaranteed by the State Council and the local people’s governments at various levels according to the provisions of this Law.

The Sate Council and the local people’s governments at various levels shall incorporate the funds for compulsory education into their budgets and allot such funds in full and in a timely manner in conformity with the standards for the size of the teaching staff and their salaries and the standards for the development of schools and for the average amount of funds per student for public use, in order to ensure the normal running of schools, the safety of the school buildings and the payment of the salaries of the teaching staff according to regulations.

The percentage of increase in government funds allotted for compulsory education by the State Council and the local people’s governments at various levels shall be higher than the percentage of increase in regular government revenues, in order to ensure the gradual increase in the average amount of funds for compulsory education per student in school, in the salaries of the teaching staff and in the average amount of funds per student for public use.

Article 43 The basic standard for the average amount of funds per school student for public use shall be formulated by the administrative department for finance under the State Council together with the administrative department for education and be adjusted in time on the basis of economic and social development. When the standard for the average amount of funds per student for public use is formulated or adjusted, attention shall be paid to meeting the basic need of instruction and teaching.

The people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in light of the realities within their own administrative areas, formulate the standard for the average amount of funds per school student for public use which shall not be lower than the standard formulated by the State.

The standard for the average amount of funds per student for public use of schools (classes) providing special education shall be higher than that for students of regular schools.

Article 44 Input of funds for compulsory education shall be provided jointly by the State Council and the local people’s governments at various levels on the basis of their respective duties, and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for establishing a system for overall planning for bringing such provision into effect. The funds needed for compulsory education in rural areas shall be shared by the people’s governments at various levels on the basis of the items and proportions as prescribed by the State Council.

People’s governments at various levels shall gratuitously provide textbooks for the school-age children and adolescents whose families are in financial difficulties, and subsidize resident students in living expenses.

The specific measures for guaranteeing funds for compulsory education shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 45 The local people’s governments at various levels shall separately list the funds for compulsory education in their financial budgets.

When drawing up their budgets, people’s governments at the county level shall arrange the funds for compulsory education in a balanced manner, apart from giving preferential consideration to schools in rural areas and schools started on weak foundations.

Article 46 The State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall standardize the financial system for transfer payment, increase the amount of such transfer of a general nature and standardize the transfer payment specially for compulsory education, in order to support and guide the local people’s governments at various levels in increasing their input in compulsory education. The local people’s governments at various levels shall make sure that the funds provided through transfer payment by the people’s governments at the higher levels for compulsory education be used for compulsory education according to regulations.

Article 47 The State Council and the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in light of actual need, set up special funds to assist the rural areas and the areas inhabited by ethic groups in providing compulsory education.

Article 48 The State encourages public organizations and individuals to make donations to compulsory education, and encourages the establishment of foundations for compulsory education in accordance with the State regulations governing the administration of foundations.

Article 49 The funds for compulsory education shall strictly be used in a way as specified in the budget. No organizations or individuals may take illegal possession of or misappropriate such funds, or illegally collect fees from schools or apportion fees among them.

Article 50 People’s governments at or above the county level shall establish a sound system of supervision through auditing and of announcement of statistics in respect of the funds for compulsory education.

Chapter VII Legal Responsibility

Article 51 Where the related department of the State Council or a local people’s government, in violation of the provisions in Chapter VI of this Law, fails to perform the duty of guaranteeing the funds for compulsory education, it shall be ordered by the State Council or the people’s government at a higher level to make rectification within a time limit; and if the circumstances are serious, the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law.

Article 52 A local people’s government at or above the county level shall, under one of the following circumstances, be ordered by the people’s government at a higher level to make rectification within a time limit; and if the circumstances are serious, the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law:

(1) failing to formulate or adjust the plans for the establishment of schools according to relevant State regulations;

(2) failing to establish schools in compliance with the standards for running schools, the requirements for location and the standard for construction as prescribed by the State;

(3) failing to regularly inspect school buildings with respect to their safety and to have them maintained or renovated in time; or

(4) failing to arrange the funds for compulsory education in a balanced manner according to law.

Article 53 A people’s government at or above the county level or its administrative department for education shall, under one of the following circumstances, be ordered to make rectification within a time limit and be criticized in a circular by the people’s government at a higher level or its administrative department for education; and if the circumstances are serious, the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law:

(1) dividing schools into key and non-key schools; or

(2) changing, or changing in disguised form, the nature of government-run schools.

Where the administrative department for education of the people’s government at the county level or the people’s government of a town or township fails to adopt measures to arrange for school-age children and adolescents to enroll in school or to prevent them from dropping out of school, they shall be pursued for legal responsibility according to the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Article 54 Under one of the following circumstances, the organization or individual shall be ordered to make rectification within a time limit by the people’s government at a higher level or its administrative department for education, finance or pricing or the auditing authority on the basis of the division of duties; and if the circumstances are serious, the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be punished according to law:

(1) taking illegal possession of or misappropriating the funds for compulsory education; or

(2) illegally collecting fees from schools or apportioning fees among them.

Article 55 A school or teacher that, in the work of compulsory education, violates the provisions in the Education Law or Teachers Law shall be punished according to the provisions in either of the said laws.

Article 56 A school that collects fees in violation of State regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for education of the people’s government at the county level to return such fees; and the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be punished according to law.

A school that seeks profits by selling commodities, services, etc. to students or doing so in disguised form shall be criticized in a circular by the administrative department for education of the people’s government at the county level; the illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated; and the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be punished according to law.

A staff member of a State organ or a person responsible for examining textbooks who participates in compiling textbooks or does so in disguised form shall be ordered to make rectification within a time limit by the people’s government at or above the county level or its administrative department for education on the basis of their respective duties and limits of power, and be given administrative sanctions according to law; and the illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated.

Article 57 Under one of the following circumstances, a school shall be ordered to make rectification within a time limit by the administrative department for education of the people’s government at the county level; and if the circumstances are serious, the person directly in charge and the other persons directly responsible shall be punished according to law:

(1) refusing to admit to the classes corresponding to the levels of the disabled school-age children and adolescents who are capable of receiving regular education;

(2) dividing classes into key and non-key ones;

(3) expelling students in violation of the provisions in this Law; or

(4) using textbooks which have not been examined and for which no approval has been obtained.

Article 58 The parents or other statutory guardians of school-age children or adolescents who, without justifiable reasons, fail to send them to schools to receive compulsory education according to the provisions of this Law shall be criticized by the local people’s government of the town or township or the administrative department for education of the people’s government at the county level and be ordered by the said government or department to make rectification within a time limit.

Article 59 Under one of the following circumstances, an organization or individual shall be punished according to the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations:

(1) coercing or cajoling school-age children or adolescents who should receive compulsory education into forfeiting schooling or dropping out of school;

(2) illegally employing school-age children or adolescents who should receive compulsory education; or

(3) publishing textbooks which have not been examined and for which no approval has been obtained according to law.

Article 60 A violation of the provisions of this Law that constitutes a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 61 The measures for implementing the provisions that school-age children and adolescents who receive compulsory education are exempted from miscellaneous fees shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 62 For schools that are run by public organizations or individuals according to law to provide compulsory education, the relevant provisions in the Law on Promotion of Privately-Run Schools shall be observed; for matters with regard to which no provisions are contained in the said law, this Law shall prevail.

Article 63 This Law shall go into effect as of September 1, 2006.