ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the organizational structure of education in the People's Republic of China. The education system and its organization exist to serve the people, and it is the Chinese Communist Party that defines the interests of the people in terms of "building socialism". The ordered structure of China's educational system is reinforced by a standardization of processes. The Ministry of Education, the State Council, and the Planning Commission of the State Council are known collectively as "the centre" by bureaucrats at the provincial and lower levels of the educational structure. The organization of education at the county level reflects the simplicity of organization both nationally and provincially. At the commune level, educational organization is tied even more closely to Party organization than it is at the higher levels. The commune organization administers its schools with the budget provided by the province, which receives its funds according to a national plan for education.
