The number of new enrolled students in tertiary educational, vocational and
senior secondary schools in China has increased rapidly over the years. One
of the major factors is attributed to Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education.
With this law in effect, it provides the fundamental basis and opportunities
for people to further their studies. This law has also proven to be
effective. Without this law in place, the upward trend reflected in the
graphs would not have occurred. On the contrary, stagnant or even decline in
number would have been observed. Furthermore, there are an increasing number
of people realizing the importance of education in their lives. They are
aware that education is an essential key to better lives. Thus, new enrolled
students in tertiary educational schools have risen rapidly by 9.2 times
from 617, 000 in 1987 to 5.7 million students in 2007. As for vocational
schools, new enrolled students have grown by 2.7 times to 3 million
students while new enrolled students in senior secondary schools have
escalated to 8.4 million students in 2007 by 3.3 times as compared to 1987.
This enrollment growth does imply that China is undergoing the stage
of popular education.
