（Adopted at the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's Congress， promulgated¹ by Order No. 38 Of the President of the People's Republic of China on April 12， 1986， and effective as of July 1. 1986）
颁布日期：19860412 　实施日期：19860701 　颁布单位：全国人大

　　Article 1 This Law is formulated³， in accordance with the Constitution and the actual conditions in China， for the purpose of promoting elementary education and the building of a socialist⁴ society that is advanced culturally and ideologically⁶ as well as materially.

　　Article 2 The state shall institute a system of nine-year compulsory⁷ education. The authorities of provinces， autonomous⁸ regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall decide on measures to promote compulsory education， in accordance with the degree of economic and cultural development in their own localities.

　　Article 3 In compulsory education， the state policy on education must be implemented¹⁰ to improve the quality of instruction and enable children and adolescents to achieve all-round development-morally， intellectually and physically-so as to lay the foundation for improving the quality of the entire nation and for cultivating well-educated and self-disciplined builders of socialism with high ideals and moral integrity.

　　Article 4 The state， the community， schools and families shall， in accordance with the law， safeguard the right to compulsory education of school-age children and adolescents.

　　Article 5 All children who have reached the age of sir shall enrol¹¹ in school and receive compulsory education for the prescribed number of years， regardless of sex， nationality or race. In areas where that is not possible， the beginning of schooling¹² may be postponed¹⁴ to the age of seven.

　　Article 6 Schools shall promote the use of putonghua （common speech based on Beijing pronunciation）， which is in common use throughout the nation.

　　Schools in which the majority of students are of minority nationalities may use the spoken and written languages of those nationalities in instruction.

　　Article 7 Compulsory education shall be divided into two stages： primary school education and junior middle school education. Once primary education has been made universal， junior middle school education shall follow. The department in charge of education under the State Council shall decide on the duration of each stage.

　　Article 8 Under the leadership of the State Council， local authorities shall assume responsibility for compulsory education， and it shall be administered at different levels.

　　The department in charge of education under the State Council shall， in accordance with the needs of the socialist modernization¹⁵ and with the physical and mental development of children and adolescents， decide on the teaching methods， the courses to be offered and their content， and the selection of textbooks for compulsory education.

　　Article 9 Local people's governments at various levels shall establish primary schools and junior middle schools at such locations that children and adolescents can attend schools near their homes.

　　Local people's governments shall establish special schools （or classes） for children and adolescents who are blind， deaf-mute or retarded¹⁶.

　　The state shall encourage enterprises， institutions and other segments of society to establish schools of the types prescribed by this Law， under unified¹⁷ administration by local people's governments and in compliance¹⁸ with the basic requirements of the state.

　　Appropriate facilities for compulsory education must be included in the plans for construction and development of both urban and rural areas.

　　Article l0 The state shall not charge tuition for students receiving compulsory education.

　　The state shall establish a system of grants-in-aid to support the school attendance of poor students.

　　Article 11 When children have reached school age， their parents or guardians¹⁹ shall send them to school to receive compulsory education for the prescribed number of years.

　　If， on account of illness or other special circumstances， school-age children or adolescents need to postpone¹³ enrollment²⁰ or be exempted²¹ from schooling， their parents or guardians shall submit an application to that effect to the local people's government for approval.

　　No organization or individual shall employ school-age children or adolescents who should receive compulsory education.

　　Article 12 The State Council and the local people's governments at various levels shall be responsible for raising funds for the operating expenses and capital construction investment needed for the implementation²² of compulsory education， and the funds must be fully²³ guaranteed.

　　State appropriations²⁴ for compulsory education shall increase at a faster rate than regular state revenues， and the average expenditure²⁵ on education per student shall also increase steadily²⁶.

　　In accordance with the provisions of the State Council， the local people's governments at various levels shall levy²⁷ a surtax for education， which shall be used mainly for compulsory education.

　　The state shall subsidize these areas that are unable to introduce compulsory education because of financial difficulties.

　　The state shall encourage individuals and all segments of society to make donations to help develop education.

　　The state shall assist areas inhabited by minority nationalities to implement⁹ compulsory education by providing them with teachers and funds.

　　Article l3 The state shall take measures to strengthen and develop normal schools and colleges in order to accelerate the training of teachers， so as to ensure， in a planned way， that all primary school teachers have received at least secondary normal school education and that all Junior middle school teachers have received at least higher normal school education.

　　The state shall establish a system to test the qualifications of teachers and shall issue qualification certificates to those who pass the test.

　　All graduates of normal schools and colleges must engage in education al work， as required by the relevant regulations. The state shall encourage teachers to make education their long-term career.

　　Article 14 Teachers should be respected by the public. The state shall safeguard the teachers' lawful²⁸ rights and interests， and take measures to raise their social status and improve their material benefits. It shall reward outstanding educational workers.

　　Teachers should be committed to the cause of socialist education， endeavour to raise their own ideological⁵ and cultural levels as well as professional competence³⁰， show concern for their students and be devoted³¹ to their duties.

　　Article 15 The local people's governments at various levels must create conditions for all school-age children and adolescents to enrol in schools and receive compulsory education. In cases where school-age children or adolescents do not enrol in school and receive compulsory education， with the exception of those who， on account of illness or other special circumstances， are allowed by the local people's governments not to go to school， the local people's governments shall admonish³² and criticize the parents or guardians of those children or adolescents， and adopt effective measures to order them to send the children or wards³³ to school.

　　In cases where organizations or individuals employ school-age children or adolescents for work， the local people's governments shall admonish and criticize them and shall order them to stop such employment. In serious cases， the offenders³⁵ may be fined， ordered to suspend their business opera tions or have their business licences revoked³⁶.

　　Article 16 No organization or individual may appropriate， withhold³⁷ or misuse³⁸ funds earmarked for compulsory education， disrupt order in education， or occupy or damage school buildings， grounds or facilities.

　　It shall be forbidden to insult or assault teachers. It shall be forbidden to inflict³⁹ physical punishment on students.

　　No one may make use of religion to engage in activities which interfere⁴⁰ with the implementation of compulsory education.

　　Persons who violate the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall be subject to administrative⁴¹ sanctions or penalties depending on the circumstances. In case damage is caused， the offender³⁴ shall be ordered to make compensation. If the circumstances are serious and a crime is committed， criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

　　Article 17 The department in charge of education under the State Council shall， in accordance with this Law， formulate² rules for its implementation， which shall come into force after being submitted to and approved by the State Council，

　　The standing²⁹ committees of the people's congresses of provinces， auton omous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate specific measures for implementation in accordance with this Law and their local conditions.

　　Article 18 This law shall go into effect as of July 1， l986