Education Levels Between Chinese Men and Women ReducedIn recent years, the average number of years Chinese women 15 years and older have received education is greater than men's are. The decrease in the illiteracy rate of Chinese women is greater than men's. The gap in the level of education between Chinese men and women has closed.The Women and Children Work Committee of State Council reported that in recent years, an average of more than 4 million illiterates learned to read every year, more than 65% of them were women. Up to 1998, the adult illiteracy rate of Chinese women was 22.6%, 1.5% less than in 1995. The illiteracy rate of Chinese women from 15 years old to 45 years old was under 8% and the average number of years Chinese women go to school was 6.5 years. To address the practical difficulties of women attending school in some border, impoverished and minority areas, the relevant departments have established classes for girls, schools for women, and opened tuition-free schools. They have also increased the opportunities for women to receive vocational education and continued education. Many Chinese women entered cutting edge scientific fields, such as high-energy physics, hereditary engineering, microelectronics technology and satellite propulsion. By the end of 1999, there were 70 female academics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, accounting for only 6% of the all academics there. |
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