Social and Cultural Change - Education and Health Provision

Question 1

Education before reform

Answer 1

• 30% males over 7 could read a simple letter
• 45.2% males and 2.2% females received any schooling
• 2/3 received traditional style education - learning confucian concepts

Question 2

Subjects before reform

Answer 2

• arithmetic and science not included
• few modern schools with western-style curricula
• 59% students enrolled in humanities degrees
• 10% studied natural science
• 11.5% studied engineering
• 3% studied agriculture

Question 3

How did literacy improve after reform

Answer 3

• new form of written language introduced
• number of primary school students increased from approx 26 million to 64 million
• in rural areas min-pan (run by the people) primary schools key to improving access
• winter schools provided short courses for adult peasants

Question 4

How did reform improve higher education

Answer 4

• university enrolments from 117,000 to 441,000
• higher education modelled closely on Soviet Union - separate Ministry of Education set up to coordinate
• by 1959, 38,000 Chinese students trained in Russian universities
• 26 new engineering institutes created
• by 1953, 63% students in engineering, medicine and agriculture

Question 5

Introduction of pinyin

Answer 5

• 1955 gov introduced new written language
• letters instead of symbols meant that words in Mandarin could be pronounced phonetically
• greatly improved communication

Question 6

Failures of educational reform 1949-58

Answer 6

• system remained elitist
• academic requirements needed for admission to middle schools and universities favoured old bourgeoisie and children of party officials
• universities mainly urban students
• teaching in villages left to barely educated cadres
• winter schools ineffective since peasants forgot what they had learned previous winter