Education in china is primarily managed by the state run public education system which falls under the command of the ministry of educationall citizens must attend school for a minimum of nine years known as nine year compulsory education which is funded by the governmentcompulsory education includes six years of primary education typically starting at the age of six and finishing at the . State education in china the chinese educational system is based on an elite selection structure where the scores of the national university entrance examination decides your fate at least in the state system the percentage of chinas college age population in higher education has increased from 14 in 1978 to roughly 20 in 2005. In china primary school education is compulsory and it lasts 6 years children start schools at age six seven in some areas the language of instruction is mandarin chinese with the exception of the primary schools that mainly admit ethnic minority students