Education in China-From the Cultural Revolution to Four Modernisations

From the Cultural Revolution to Four Modernisations Nirmal Kumar Chandra Despite some commendable efforts to democratise education, the Cultural Revolution was bogged down by the inability of the leadership to develop an alternative vision of higher education that would take into account the broader socio-political goals simultaneously with the economic compulsions of a major world power that China already was. Out of this ineptitude grew the authoritarian trend culminating in the repression of intellectuals. The succeeding leadership seems to have exploited these weakness to launch a very different socio-economic order that promotes inequalities at many levels, including the field of education. While committed to the slogan of accelerated growth all round, its achievements in the sphere of education are mixed. The restoration of the status quo ante in higher education and the promotion of postgraduate studies are positive steps, but quite insufficient. The savage cutback in secondary education is thoroughly unjustified. The reintroduction of an examination-centred system and of keypoint schools are controversial from an educational view point and retrograde from a democratic perspective.