Private education of China in transition

China, once a stagnant and inward-looking country, is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan thanks in no small part to the introduction of market forces. The people of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province have found that, if left to their own devices, human beings will provide whatever is desired by their fellows including education and that the world can be much larger than the farm on which you were born.
In the mid-1980s, Shenzhen, a coastal city of nearly 800,000 people, was one of the first regions in China to experiment with market reforms. Since that time, private enterprise and the region as a whole has flourished.
In 1993 the gross industrial output of Shenzhen was approximately 34 billion RMB, making it one of the wealthiest regions in China. State-owned enterprises accounted for only 3 billion of that total output, or less than 10 percent. In contrast, private enterprises of which there are more than 10,000were responsible for approximately 18 billion, more than half the total. Businesses owned jointly by the private and the public sectors accounted for the rest.
The development of the private sector has fundamentally changed the way residents of Shenzhen look at the world. Traditionally, Chinese peasants lived by the motto, “facing the earth with the back toward the sky.” They were tied to their land. Where they were born was, almost always, where they would work and where they would die. Their options were limited in the extreme. In comparison, a child born in Shenzhen now has an endless number of choices. He can decide to work the land or work for an industrial firm or even start his own business. Market forces have broadened the horizons of Shenzhen residents and educated them to the ways of the world. They have learned that in a market economy entrepreneurs frequently fail. But they have also learned that risk taking, when combined with foresight and hard work, can produce significant rewards a fact that many business owners in Shenzhen appreciate.
Most important, the people of Shenzhen realize that on the market all is harmonious that one earns his living not through coercion or brute force but by serving others. That realization has produced a climate in which private industry and private organizations including private schools can thrive. From Chairman Mao’s earliest days in power to less than a decade ago, education in China was controlled entirely by the state. All children were educated in government schools; private schools were prohibited by law. However, education is now just one of many goods offered privately¡ªand there are plenty of buyers.
In Shenzhen, more than half of the 600 million RMB spent on education comes from the private sector. That is a claim that few, if any, communities in the United States can make. Private schools like Ya Di Middle School, which has an annual operating budget of approximately 5 million RMB frequently enjoy greater financial support than their public counterparts and often offer a wider range of classes and substantially better teaching. An increasing number of parents have recognized the superior quality of private institutions and have opted for private schools for their children. There are more than 2,300 privately run kindergarten classes in Shenzhen, in which more than 90 percent of all children of kindergarten age are enrolled. In addition, there are 21 private high schools, which educate about a quarter of the total high school student population. And half of all vocational students attend one of Shenzhen’s 36 private vocational institutions.
While many of the private schools in Shenzhen are nonprofit with their operating deficits covered by donations from individuals and organizations that realize the importance of independent education there are a growing number of for-profit schools, as well. Soon, business will be the main investor in education in Shenzhen.
Numerous regions in China are following Shenzhen’s lead. For example, in Shanghai more than 100 private schools are in operation, educating approximately 60,000 students. And as the market economy continues to develop¡ªand as Beijing realizes that private schools can help ease the government’s financial burdens one can expect that number to grow. The government supports private educational organizations. The Law on Promotion of Private Education officially came into effect on September 1, 2003. Recently, a three-day meeting entitled “International Conference on Private Schools Towards the 21st Century,” was held in Beijing with a dual purpose: to share and showcase the growth and achievements of Chinese education in the private sector and to benefit from the experience of foreign educators in addressing the challenges facing Chinese private schools. Beijing Normal University is a key national institution for the training and placement of teachers throughout China and well positioned for an international conference on this topic. It is noteworthy that the Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress addressed the conference and emphasized the importance of private education for the future of China. “Public schools alone, because of insufficient governmental funds, cannot meet the people’s demand for education,” was a recurring theme during the conference. The importance given to private education in a socialist society, perceived outside of China as inconsistent with Communist ideology, must be seen in the perspective of developments in China in the last two decades.
By the end of 2003, there were 60,000 private schools of various kinds and at various levels, with a total enrollment of 11.16 million. Among them, there are 1,202 private institutes of higher learning (not including the 133 private schools of higher learning qualified to grant degrees), with a total enrollment of 1.4 million. Private schools have opened avenues of cooperation with their foreign counterparts. Many foreign universities have entered China through cooperation with Chinese private schools, enriching China’s education and opening new channels for studies.
The experience in Shanghai shows that investment in higher education pays off handsomely. About one-third of the 70 colleges in Shanghai are private. The initial input for these schools, 2.5 billion yuan (US$309 million), has generated profits double the amount.