Patterns of literacy in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

The recent publication of data from the 1982 census permits an assessment of the patterns, progress and problems of illiteracy in China. Educational progress, since the communists came to power in 1949, has been particularly impressive, especially in relation to the low levels of income within the People's Republic. Nevertheless, nearly a third of the country's population are still unable to read and write and major variations in literacy exist between the developed and less developed regions, between men and women, between the urban and rural areas, between the various age groups and among the many ethnic groups that constitute the People's Republic of China. Among the most favoured people and places, literacy rates exceed 90% but among the most disadvantaged groups, retired women in rural areas for example, levels of literacy fall below 3%. Proposed educational reforms, targeted to provide nine years of compulsory education, offer the potential for boosting literacy levels and breaking the bondage of ignorance. However, such proposals are being undermined by the recent economic reforms in rural China. By stressing the value of labour, including child labour, the agricultural responsibility system has generated a surprising decline in school attendance which may jeopardise future improvements in literacy, particularly so among the poorer people in the poorer areas of China.