Two Decades of Basic Education in Rural China

52 3 Nine Year Compulsory Education in a Poor District ...

Class sizes vary widely by school type. Central primary schools tend to have
large classes and incomplete schools small ones. This was the case in 1990 and
remains true now. Thus in the last five years the class size in Huaziping Central
Primary School has been over 60 children per class. The average for the town-
ship is about 28:1. This means that many of the incomplete primary schools have
class sizes around 10 and should be operating as multi-grade schools. In Yanhewan
Central Primary School the class size averages about 42, and as in Huaziping the
incomplete primary schools can have class sizes of around 10. One incomplete
school now has 12 students, 10 of whom are in pre-school.
The enrolment patterns in 1990 indicated that many of those who enrolled in
grade 1 did not reach grade 6. Simply put enrolments in grade 6 were typically
about 25 % of those in grade 1 across the county and in the two case study dis-
tricts. The data indicate that now enrolments in grade 6 average only 10 % less
than in grade 1, six years earlier. Rates of drop out are therefore now much lower.
The patterns of enrolment still suggest that the largest reductions occur between
grades 1 and 2. In the 1990s much of the explanation was that children did drop
out and did not continue their schooling. Now most of the explanation is related
to repetition of grade 1 and under and overage entry into grade 1. Some under age
children may be counted as grade 1 pupils, though they are actually preschool age.
Some others enter a year late and expand the size of grade 1.
Gross enrolment rates at primary level are about 110 % in Ansai confirming
the fact that over age children are still in the system. Net enrolment rates appear
to remain lower. In Huaziping net enrolment rates in 2006 were around 60 %.
Nearly all of the children are able to get access to schooling, but many are over
age. Most of those who complete primary school now have access to secondary

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Grade1Grade2 Grade3 Grade4 Grade5 Grade6

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Fig. 3.3 Enrolments in Yanhewan central primary school