Education system

China
described and compared with
the Dutch system
 Education system | Evaluation chart

Education system China

This document contains information on the education system of China.

We explain the Dutch equivalent of the most common qualifications from
China for the purpose of admission to Dutch higher education.

Disclaimer
We assemble the information for these descriptions of education systems with the
greatest care. However, we cannot be held responsible for the consequences of
errors or incomplete information in this document.

With the exception of images and illustrations, the content of this publication is
subject to the Creative Commons Name NonCommercial 3.0 Unported licence.
Visit www.nuffic.nl/en/home/copyright for more information on the reuse of this
publication.

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Education system China

 Education system China

Ph.D. 博士 L8
(PhD)

Entrance examination L7

Master degree 硕士 L7
postgraduate

(university education)

2-3

Entrance examination L6

Upgrade to Bachelor 专升本 L6

(higher professional education)
Undergraduate program 本科 L6
1-2
undergraduate

Bachelor degree 学士
(university education)
Non-degree zhuanke 专科 L5
(higher professional education)

4 3-4

National entrance examination 高考 L4

(entrance examination)

Senior middle school 高中 L4 Vocational senior middle school L3 Vocational senior middle school L3
(senior secondary general education) 中专 中专
(senior secondary vocational (senior secondary vocational
3
education) 3
education) 4

Junior middle school 初中 L2

(junior secondary education)
3

Primary school 小学 L1
(primary education)
6

0 Duration of education

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 Evaluation chart

The left-hand column in the table below lists the most common foreign
qualifications applicable to admission to higher education. The other columns
show the Dutch equivalent along with the corresponding levels in the Dutch and
European qualifications frameworks.

Degree or qualification Dutch equivalent and NLQF level EQF

level

Vocational senior middle school MBO diploma (qualification 2/3 2/3

graduation certificate (zhongdeng level 2 or 3)
zhuanye xuexiao biye zhengshu)
(3 to 4 years)

Senior middle school graduation HAVO diploma 4 4

certificate (gaozhong)

Graduation certificate from a zhuanke 2 years of HBO 5 5

programme (2 years)

Graduation certificate from a zhuanke 3 years of HBO 5 5

programme (3 years)

Graduation certificate from a HBO bachelor’s degree 6 6

bachelor’s programme (4 years) or 2 years of WO

Graduation certificate from a WO or HBO bachelor’s 6 6

bachelor’s programme at a Project 211 degree
institution (4 years)

Graduation certificate from a master’s WO master’s degree 7 7

programme (2 years)

NB
• The information provided in the table is a general recommendation from
which no rights may be derived.
• NLQF = Dutch Qualifications Framework. EQF = European Qualifications
Framework.
• The EQF/NLQF level is not so much a reflection of study load or content;
rather, it is an indication of a person’s knowledge and skills after having
completed a certain programme of study.
• Information about Dutch equivalent qualifications can be found on our
website: education and diplomas the Netherlands.
• The Cooperation Organisation for Vocational Education, Training and the
Labour Market (SBB), evaluates statements on foreign qualifications and
training at VMBO and MBO level. The evaluation may vary if SBB evaluates the
diploma for admission to VET schools or the labour market in the Netherlands.

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Education system China

 Introduction

In 1949 Mao Zedong called out the People's Republic of China. Since then,
there has been a centrally planned political and economic system based
on a one-party system and state-owned and managed production
resources.

The Chinese education system has a very centralised structure and is supervised
by the Ministry of Education, which was called the State Education Commission
from 1985 until 1998. The Ministry creates the policy, which is then implemented at
provincial level by the provincial educational authorities.

Education
The Chinese education system took its current form between 1977 and 1980. The
total duration of primary and general secondary education was set at 12 years,
and a national higher education entrance examination instituted. Universities
started with 4-year bachelor’s programmes and 3-year master’s programmes.

Language
The official language of education is Mandarin (putonghua), which is taught to all
pupils at school. The written language has been standardised, and since 1949 has
been written using simplified characters. Recognised national minorities use their
own language as the language of instruction. The Chinese characters can be
transliterated into the Roman alphabet using the standardised Hanyu pinyin
system. Where possible, Chinese educational terminology and the names of
institutions in this document will be presented in characters and Hanyu pinyin (in
brackets).

General features
• Compulsory education: 6 to 15 years.
• Language: Mandarin or a minority language (from recognised minorities) in
primary and secondary education, and Mandarin only in higher education.
• Duration academic year: September to July (2 semesters of 20 weeks).

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 Primary and secondary education

Primary education lasts 6 years and is intended for children aged 6-12.
Subsequently, pupils move on to the 3-year junior middle school (初中 chuzhong),
which marks the end of compulsory education.

After completing an entrance examination, pupils can choose between the 3-

year senior middle school (高中 gaozhong) or a 3 or 4-year vocational
programme (中专 zhongzhuan) at a vocational senior middle school
(中等专业学校 zhongdeng zhuanye xuexiao).

Senior middle school concluded with what was called the huikao (会考)
examination until 2010. It was taken in 9 subjects: politics, Chinese, mathematics,
a foreign language (often English, otherwise Japanese, Russian, French or
German), physics, chemistry, biology, history and geography. Pupils also
completed practical examinations in physics, chemistry, and biology and were
assessed on their moral, ideological and political development.

At the end of the general programme, pupils are awarded the senior middle
school graduation certificate (普通高中毕业证书 putong gaozhong biye
zhengshu).

In terms of level, the senior middle school graduation certificate

is comparable to a HAVO diploma.

At the end of the vocational programmes, pupils are awarded the vocational
senior middle school graduation certificate.

In terms of level, the vocational senior middle school graduation certificate

is comparable to an MBO diploma at qualification level 2 or 3,
depending on the specialisation.

General ability test

In 2002, the Ministry of Education decided on a curriculum reform and changes to
the examination system, which gradually replaced the huikao examination with
the general ability test. In 2010 the system was introduced nationally.

During this reform, a credit system was introduced for the 3 years of senior
secondary education. In total, pupils must obtain 144 credits in order to complete
the programme (116 from compulsory subjects and 28 from electives).
Furthermore new subjects were introduced in the curriculum, including research

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skills, social service, social work experience placements, physical education, and
art subjects. Each subject is made up of various 36-hour modules which are worth
2 credits, except for the art and physical education modules, which are worth 1
credit.

Subjects are also subdivided into 8 areas of study, namely: language and
literature, mathematics, humanities and society, science, technology, art,
physical education and health, and a combination of practical activities (see the
table on the next page).

A distinction is now drawn between compulsory and elective subjects. For each
subject 100 points can be obtained (sometimes less for electives, this differs
between provinces). The points score is then converted into a letter according to
a slightly modified assessment system made up of 4 letters:

Letter grade Points Description Meaning

A 100-85 优秀 Excellent

B 84-70 良好 Good

C 69-60 合格 Satisfactory

D 59-0 不合格 Unsatisfactory

The name of the final examination is no longer huikao (会考), but has been
replaced by the name xueye shuiping kaoshi (学业水平考试), in English usually
translated as ‘general ability test’. There are several provincial variants, including
学业水平测试,学业基础会考 (general ability basic huikao), and Beijing is the only
region to use the variant 模块考核 (modular test).

The examination is conducted twice per year, and excellent pupils can sit the
exam from the second year of senior middle school onwards (except for the 3
compulsory subjects of Chinese, mathematics, and foreign language; these must
be examined in the third year). The highest score obtained in any subject is the
one that counts.

The results for electives are only valid for the same year, as opposed to the results
of compulsory subjects, which are valid for 3 years.

The curriculum is as follows:

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Education system China

Area of study Subject Compulsory Elective

credits credits

Language and literature Chinese 10

Foreign language 10

Mathematics Mathematics 10

Technology (incl. 8
Technology computer sciences and
practical technology)

Politics 8
Humanities and society
History 6

Geography 6

Physics 6
Science
Chemistry 6

Biology 6

Art Art/Music/Fine arts 6

Physical education and Physical education and 11

health health

Research-based learning 15
Combination of practical activities
activities
Social service 2

Social practice 6

Total amount of credits 116 28

The year is made up of 41 weeks of study (including 1 week of social work

experience) and 11 weeks of holiday. Practical examinations are taken for
science subjects, technology subjects, and arts subjects. In most provinces,
students can choose from the following foreign languages: English, Japanese,
Russian, Spanish, German, and French. The subject ‘research-based learning
activities’ encourages pupils to analyse and solve problems independently and
to develop study skills.

Examination in Jiangsu
A major exception to the implementation of this system is the province of Jiangsu.
The schools there have introduced the reformed curriculum from autumn 2005
onwards, but without the 3 compulsory subjects (Chinese, mathematics, a foreign
language) and art subjects, physical education and practical activities. The 3
compuslory subjects are examined during the gaokao examination in the

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province of Jiangsu. In addition to the general ability test, Jiangsu also has a
comprehensive quality assessment (综合素质评价) that covers the arts subjects,
physical education, and the practical activities.

 Admission to higher education

Admission to higher education is mainly based on the result of the national

entrance examination (高考 gaokao).

Gaokao and baosong

The gaokao) is conducted once a year. Only a select group of students whose
academic performance is outstanding, can be granted an exemption from the
entrance examination by a special recommendation from the school to the
university of their choice (保送 baosong). Some private institutions are exempted
from the gaokao and accept all students who can afford the tuition fees.
Prestigious universities (key institutions) maintain higher admission standards, and
therefore require higher gaokao scores than other institutions. Admission to these
institutions is extremely competitive.

Gaozhong
To take part in the entrance examination, students must have a senior middle
school graduation certificate, sometimes also translated as ‘general secondary
education certificate’ (gaozhong). In general, students with a vocational middle
school certificate are officially allowed to take the gaokao. However, the
entrance examination scores of pupils with this certificate are generally lower
than those of pupils with a senior middle school graduation certificate, mainly
due to the more limited number of general subjects in the programme.

The 3+X model

A number of changes to the national entrance examination (gaokao) were
implemented in 2003, known as the ‘3 + X model’. The number ‘3’ stands for the
number of compulsory examination subjects (Chinese, mathematics and a
foreign language), and the letter 'X' for the following 6 subjects: chemistry,
physics, biology, politics, history, and geography. Every provincial-level
examination authority was able to choose its own combination from these 6
subjects.

Usually, 3 standard combinations were chosen:

• humanities (3+文科综合, consisting of politics, history, and geography);
• science (3+ 理科综合, consisting of physics, chemistry, and biology); or
• a combination of humanities and science.

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