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Title:: The Chinese Experience in the Universalization of CompulsoryEducation: 1978-2018

Keywords:: universalization of nine-year compulsory education; education development experience; southsouthcooperation; United Nations Millennium Development Goals ( MDG ); United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goals ( SDG ); forty years of reform and opening up

Abstract:: China has made unprecedented progress in its education sector in the past forty years. It has greatlyexpanded the stock of human capital, which has played an essential role in China’s economic success. Thispaper critically reviews the theoretical framework developed by Professor Lant Prichett on lack of education indeveloping countries and points out its limitations. Then it summarizes the Chinese experience in universalizingnine-year compulsory education. Four main characteristics of the Chinese model come to the fore: settingrealistic targets; taking an incremental and gradual approach; putting in place accountability system; andcultivating a virtuous cycle between economic development and education development. The Chineseexperience is more relevant to the developing countries’ context, especially the Sub-Saharan African countriesand South Asian countries which have not fully met the MDG goals in education. Finally, the paper exploresthe prospects of this kind of research in the countries engaged in South-South Cooperation.