Educating ‘the Masses’ in China: Unequal Opportunities and Unequal Outcomes

Abstract

Following a staggering growth rate of 10 per cent per annum between 1979 and 2010, China’s growth has steadily decelerated over the past five years, from 7.9 per cent in 2012 to 6.7 per cent in 2016. Yet it remains by far the fastest-growing major economy in the world. In the decades ahead, China aims to sustain its progress of development and to advance from middle-income to high-income status by midcentury. The road towards this ambitious goal is mapped out by a comprehensive reform plan, geared towards switching from a reliance on an abundance of cheap labour to a more