education in china Options

[AnAmericanInAsia]

When I was in China someone told me that the government does not provide free education for all children, and that, in fact, there is no free public education at all. This person that said parents must pay in order for their children to go to school...even at the primary school level.

Is this really true? This seems really unbelieveable to me. Especially in a country that is supposed to be "communist" (i.e. where the state provides for the basic needs of the people)

Can anyone give me a more accurate picture of what the education system in China is like.

Do parents really have to pay to send their kids to school?
What % of Chinese kids DO go to school (cities AND villages)?
How long do most Chinese kids spend in school?

[Improv]

first of all, let's just get it clear, that communism is not actually a form of economic structure, what you guys are referring to, is "socialism", in which all economic power is concentrated by the state, and given out, where it's "needed"

labour unions are considered to be part of a socialist economy where the good of the common worker is protected by a larger organization,

this is the opposite of "capitalism" in which everyone is basically on their own, and gets wherever their skill can take them.

I'm wondering, is the american educational standard really that high? -.-
as far as I know... it's been dropping and dropping and dropping, it would seem that if parents wanted their children to go to a nice college, they have to send their kids to a private school, because public schools don't teach enough material anymore.

I'd have to say that canada is a little better than the US, but even that's not saying much anymore... as they just canceled calculus from all grade 12 years, where I live.

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China is a large country, it takes a long time to create a structure that can delivery the correct amount of resources to the correct location. I'm not saying the system is perfect, there are bound to be corrupted officials somewhere in between, but that is not anything that hasn't been seen in western governments.

So, really... I go back to china on average once every two years, I have a few cousins whom I've watched go through the entire process (education wise), they paid nothing, and frankly, some of those later assignments, even I couldn't do without some serious thought...

so, if we're talking about "quality" of education for the about the same amount, $0, in the urban settings, to the average family, china's definitely better off atm.