Education undertakings achieved rapid development. In 2003, there were 651,000 graduate students enrolled in institutions of higher learning or research institutions, including 269,000 new entrants, up 66,000 over the previous year, and 111,000 students completed their graduate programs. There were 11.09 million undergraduates enrolled in regular institutions of higher learning, including 3.82 million new entrants, and 1.89 million completed their undergraduate courses. Secondary vocational or technical schools of various types had an enrollment of over 12.4 million students, including 5.04 million new entrants, and 3.44 million students graduated. Regular senior secondary schools had 19.65 million enrolled students, including 7.52 million new entrants, and 4.58 million graduated from senior secondary schools. Students enrolled in junior secondary schools totaled 66.91 million, including 22.2 million new entrants, and 20.18 million completed their junior secondary school courses. Pupils enrolled in primary schools numbered some 116.9 million, including 18.29 new entrants, and 22.68 million graduated from primary schools. There were 365,000 students in special education schools, with 49,000 new entrants. Kindergartens accommodated 20.04 million children.

Citizens' right to education was guaranteed. From 1997 to 2002, the annual appropriations for education increased by 59 billion yuan on average nationwide, at a yearly growth of 16.7 percent. According to statistics, 2,478 counties (cities and districts) in China have basically introduced the nine-year compulsory education and eliminated illiteracy among young and middle-aged people, of which 51 were added in 2003. Meanwhile, the national illiteracy rate among young and middle-aged people shrank to below 5 percent. In 2003, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Institute of Statistics published the latest statistics on the elimination of illiteracy worldwide in the past decade, which shows that among the 40 countries surveyed, China has made the greatest achievements in this field.

Efforts were made to promote international cooperation and exchanges on education. China has signed agreements with Germany, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand, respectively, on mutual recognition of degrees and diplomas granted by their institutions of higher education. It also put into force the regulations on Sino-foreign cooperative schools and awarded state scholarships to selected self-supported students studying abroad under a government program for the first time.

The number of Chinese students studying abroad dropped slightly in 2003. There were a total of 117,300 Chinese students going abroad for study in 2003, including 3,002 sponsored by the government and 5,114 by state-owned enterprises. The figure was 6.3 percent lower than in the previous year. The number of self-supported students was 109,200, a decline of 6.8 percent year on year.

Returned students from overseas numbered 20,100 in 2003. Of this, the number of those financed by the government and state-owned enterprises was 2,638 and 4,292, respectively, in addition to 13,200 students at their own expense.

From 1978 to 2003, roughly 700,200 Chinese had gone abroad for study, with 172,800 returning. Of the rest 527,400 people, 356,600 are studying in educational institutions, engaged in research projects or on academic visits.

Several countries recognized degrees issued to self-taught Chinese students. Twenty-three countries and regions around the world, including the Netherlands, Australia and Britain, have acknowledged the authenticity of China's exams of higher learning for self-taught students. With their certificates for single subjects or credentials of overall academic achievements, Chinese people who have taken the self-taught program can now apply to study at foreign universities and, after passing the required exams, attend classes for their degrees.