China's Achievements in Improving Women's Education

[Tuchong]

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in 2012, the Party and the country have put education in the strategic position of priority development, and they have prioritized women's education while promoting women's development and ensured women's equal right to education.

China has basically eliminated the gender gap in education, and more than half of the undergraduates and junior college students are now women. Women's equal right to education has been truly guaranteed, and women's education level has risen significantly.

Statistics indicate the gross preschool enrollment rate in China in 2022 was 89.7 percent, up 1.6 percentage points compared with the previous year.

The number of preschoolers in public-interest kindergartens (including both public and inclusive private kindergartens) was 41.44 million in 2022, which accounted for 89.55 percent of the children in kindergartens nationwide. In 2020, girls accounted for 47.2 percent of the children in kindergartens, up 1.7 percentage points compared with 2010.

In terms of primary school, the net enrollment rate exceeded 99 percent in 2021. The net enrollment rate of girls in primary school has remained above 99.9 percent for six consecutive years (since 2015), almost the same rate as boys.

Meanwhile, the gross enrollment rate in junior middle school has reached 100 percent. The completion rate of the nine-year compulsory education reached 95.5 percent in 2022, up 0.1 percentage point over the previous year.

In terms of high school, the gross enrollment rate was 91.6 percent in 2022, up 0.2 percentage point over the previous year. There were 20.598 million girls enrolled in high schools across the country in 2021. The proportion of girl students in regular high schools nationwide has surpassed 50 percent for seven consecutive years.

In 2021, the number of girls attending institutions of higher education was about 27.807 million, an increase of 1.244 million from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of girls who were postgraduate students was 1.717 million, accounting for 51.5 percent of the postgraduate students.

In recent years, vocational education has developed rapidly in China, and the number of women receiving a vocational education has gradually risen.

More than 100 colleges or universities nationwide have introduced special courses on women's studies, and they have helped students increase their awareness of gender equality.

(Source: Women Voice / Translated by Women of China)