Before the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, schools were not properly distributed. Most of the colleges and universities were located in a few big coastal cities, with very few in the hinterland, and none in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia or Qinghai. The Tibet Autonomous Region had neither colleges and universities, nor secondary and primary schools. Today there are 64 colleges and universities in these four regions. Tibet has six postsecondary institutes, seven secondary vocational schools, 117 middle schools and 884 primary schools.
Now, China has the world's largest number of people receiving formal education. Over 300 million people study in schools of various kinds. Net elementary school enrollment has reached 99.5%; and gross enrollment rates in junior and senior high schools, and higher-learning institutions are, respectively, 98%, 66% and 23%. Nine-year compulsory education is in effect in over 95% of China's populated areas, with illiteracy in the young and middle-aged population under 4%. Education in China has reached the average levels of middle-income countries.
Starting 2007, the state has exempted rural students from tuition during the nine-year compulsory education period. The policy also includes provision of free books and accommodation subsidies to impoverished students. This has benefited 150 million students so far. Starting the autumn semester of 2008, urban students are exempt from tuition during their nine-year compulsory education.
The state plan to make nine-year compulsory education basically universal and to basically eliminate illiteracy among young and middle-aged adults in the western region has been implemented on schedule.