Chinese Education: The Truth Behind the Boasts

With crowded classrooms and bribes, the education system is no communist paradise
By
Dexter Roberts
Last year, some students in Hubei had to bring their own desks to school Photograph by Wu Hanren/ImageineChina/AP Photo

In an international survey released just over two years ago, high school students from Shanghai scored at the top in math, science, and reading. Some Americans saw this as a Sputnik moment—a wake-up call for the rest of the world to better educate its young or risk falling behind the Chinese. In March, China’s leadership announced that education spending totaled 7.79 trillion yuan ($1.26 trillion) over the last five years, reaching a target of 4 percent of gross domestic product. “The quality and level of education in China was comprehensively raised,” said outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao on March 5.

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