Number of schools falls

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The number of elementary and middle schools in China decreased at an average rate of 37 per day in 2012, according to a report published recently by the Ministry of Education (MOE), suggesting a shrinking trend of compulsory education due to a decrease in the student population.

There were 145 million students enrolled in elementary schools and middle schools in 2012, showing a nearly 40 million reduction over the course of 10 years, according to the MOE's annual education development report published on Friday.

Analysts said the shrinking trend will continue because of the low birth rate of younger generations due to the family planning policy, which is still not set to be loosened up in the short term. Rapid urbanization is another factor that forced a large number of schools in rural areas to be closed or combined, as many young students are moving in to the cities with their parents.

"It will exert great influence on higher and occupational education, which have been expanding in the past decade," Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Global Times.

Xiong noted that the sharp reduction of schools had resulted in serious social issues including increased transportation and time costs for rural students, plus higher dropout rates and the unbalanced distribution of educational resources. Many decisions on closures have proved to be the consequence of wrongful policy decisions, made by local governments disregarding the needs of students and parents.

"I lost over 10 students after one semester because they lived too far away from school and cannot afford the boarding fees," a graduate student surnamed Feng at Peking University, who was a volunteer teacher at a rural elementary school in Shaanxi Province, told the Global Times.

The MOE has issued three policies since 2006, requesting local governments to avoid closing or combining schools without proper evaluation and public hearings. The latest policy in 2012 emphasized the necessity to increase support for and funding to rural schools, but the National Audit Office still found higher dropout rates and serious safety risks due to school combination in an inspection this May.

"Public participation in policy decisions should be fully realized, especially regarding education issues," said Xiong.

Non-government funded education is thriving and the country saw an increase of 9,100 private schools in 2012, according to the report.

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