ABSTRACT
Post-1977 Chinese educational policies show clearly the authorities’ intention to develop primary education on a two-track basis with urban academic schools on one hand and rural work-study schools on the other. This is, however, not an innovation but a return to an ancient tradition. Education after 1977 has been assigned the arduous task of training competent people for the realisation of the country’s modernisation goals. While education itself is seen as the foundation of all scientific and technological advancement, primary education is regarded by the authorities as the core of the foundation. The ‘dual tasks’ for Chinese primary schools find expression in a two-track schooling system. In theory, all primary schools are assigned both tasks. In practical implementation, there is a clear ‘division of labour’ as to which schools are to carry out which tasks. A significant difference between primary education today and primary education in other periods of the Communist regime is in the area of political-ideological education.
