1. Unbalanced Development of Compulsory Education in China Gao Yimin International and Comparative Education Research Institute Beijing Normal University

2. Current situations Nine-year compulsory education in China  In 2004 * enrolment rate for primary school 98.95 % *enrolment rate for junior middle school 94.1 %  In 2009 * enrolment rate for primary school 99.4 % *enrolment rate for junior middle school 99 %

3. Educational expenditure for per student (RMB) [1] Region School Easter n MiddleWesternMiddle VS Eastern Wester n VS Eastern Primary2001207585198741%48% 20087135.653192.373631.7744.74%50.89% Middle200126551165147444%56% 20089077.314110.844573.8045.29%50.39%

4. Educational expenditure for per student (RMB) [1] [2] Area School Urban areas Rural areas Urban VS Rural areas primary200114847981.86 times 20083410.093116.831.09 times middle2001195510141.93 times 20084531.834005.781.13 times

5. Dangerous school buildings [3]  It is reported that 77% percent of primary schools and 61% of junior middle schools in rural areas have dangerous school buildings; however, such situation is rarely found in urban areas. (1999)

6. Quality of teachers (in year of 2002) [2] CityCountyRural QRHDQRHDQRHD Eastern99.3%59.6%98.6%42.0%98.0%29.0% Middle99.1%57.0%98.6%41.6%97.8%26.5% Western98.3%53.0%98.0%35.2%94.2%20.1% QR=qualification rate HD= higher degree

7. Enrolment rate （ in the year of 1999 ） [2] Area Enrolment rate UrbanRuralGap between urban and rural areas Primary to Middle school 98%90%8% Middle to High school 55.4%18.6%36.8% Yuan (2004) surveyed 17 middle schools in rural areas and found that the drop-out rate is up to 43% on average, and the highest is up to 74%.

8. Completion rate of compulsory education  Shandong Province [2] The lowest completion rate in western part of Shandong is 76%, but the highest completion rate in eastern part of Shandong is 99%, and there is a 23% gap between them.

9. Teaching facilities  Experimental facilities In Hunan province, 67.4% of urban schools meet the required standard, but only 29.18% of rural schools meet the required standard.  Establishment of online school In Anhui province, 37.66% of urban schools have set up their online schools, but this rate in rural schools is only 8.01%. [3]

10.  Computer In Beijing ， about 31 students of urban primary schools can own a computer, but this number is 73 students in rural areas ； about 12 students of urban junior middle schools can own a computer on average but the number is 52 students in rural areas.  Quality of teachers In the Experimental Primary School attached to Beijing Normal University, up to 80% teachers have got the bachelor degree, but the rate is only 30% in a school from the suburb area. [4]

11. Difference in educational groups  It is estimated that in those key middle schools, more than 70% of those students are from families of cadres, intellectuals and high-income families. [2]  The education opportunities for those children of minority have also been affected because of the difference in language and culture.

12. Analysis of causes for the imbalance  Natural causes 9.6 million square kilometers; a population of 1.3 billion; 56 ethnic groups  Historical causes  Institutional causes * Expenditure in compulsory education is mainly from the finance of the county, but the level of economic development has huge difference in different counties. * Key school system * Household registration system

13. Countermeasures Central government increasing educational funding; reforming the way of transfer payment; promoting the training of teacher;… Ministry of Education National Teacher Training Program Local government Beijing : School Building Safety Project ; Middle School Construction Project; Memo with the Ministry of Education; ……

14. Problems and challenges  Theoretically and practically, there are many issues demanding further research and resolution due to the complex relationship between the balanced development of education and the equity of education. 。

15. Equal opportunity of education policy Equal opportunity of education policy can be reflected in three aspects:  firstly, one should be provided with the same educational resources regardless of his potential;  secondly, the students with the same potentials should be treated equally regardless of his personal birth background;  thirdly, one under the disadvantaged situation should be provided with a positively different treatment (Evetts)

16. Other problems  Actually, the policy to narrow down the gap has caused different responses.  The trend to average the teachers’ salary will dampen the enthusiasm of some teachers.  Some policies for standardization have negative effects on the cultivation of students' individuality and creativity.

17. References [1] 《中国教育经费统计年鉴 2009 》 [2] 袁振国. 缩小差距 ——— 中国教育政策的重大命 题 [J]. 北京师范大学学报 ( 社会科学版 ).2005 年 第 3 期. [3] 教育部《 2007 年教育统计数据》 [4] 北京办学条件调查（ 2000 ）北京市教育委员 会

18.  Thank you!