ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a snapshot of the governance model in state-owned enterprise (SOE) schools under the central planning system. It shows the flow of decision making and bargaining over railway schools between governments and railway departments, at various levels (central, provincial, city and district), under the modern enterprise system (MES). Railway schools provide a comprehensive education from pre-school to higher education to the children of employees of the Chinese railway which is one of the biggest industries in China. Presenting a case of the transformation of ownership in a railway SOE school at Shenzhen, the chapter demonstrates how top-down policy is implemented from the central government to ministry level, to province level, to municipal city level and, finally, to district level. Networks support negotiation and bargaining at the district level which, in turn, influence the education policy of the central government. Specifically, the chapter entails a detailed report on the top-down process of ownership transference of a SOE school from the railway education department of Guangshen Railway Industrial Development Corporation to the Education Bureau in Shenzhen.
