Before 1946, the country had only 1,300 kindergartens（幼儿园yòuéryuán）, 289,000 primary schools and 4,266 secondary schools. With the adoption of the policy of reform（改革gǎigé） and opening to the outside world in 1978, basic education entered a new era of progress.

在1946年之前，中国仅有1300所幼儿园、289000所小学和4266所中学。在1978年实施改革开放政策后，基础教育进入了一个新的发展阶段。

In 1985, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party（中国共产党zhōngguó gòngchǎndǎng） issued the "Decision on the Reform of the educational Structure", laying down the principle that local governments should be responsible for basic education. The new policy was an incentive for local governments, especially those of the counties and townships. In 1986, the National People's Congress（国会guóhuì） promulgated the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China", thus placing basic education in the country on a firm legal basis.

1985年，中国共产党中央委员会下达了“关于教育体制改革的决定”，指定了地方政府应当为基础教育负责的原则。这一政策为地方政府，尤其是县镇政府注入了一剂强心剂。1986年，全国人民代表大会颁布了《中华人民共和国义务教育法》，从而为国家的基础教育铺设了坚实的法律基础。

In 1993 the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued the "Guidelines for the Reform and Development of Education in China", clarifying the directions and basic policies（政策zhèngcè） for the development of basic education till the early years of the 21st century. In early 1999, the State Council ratified the "Action Plan for Educational Vitalization Facing the 21st Century" formulated by the Ministry of Education (MOE), laying down the implementation of the strategy（战略zhànluè） of "Invigorate China through Science, Technology and Education" and drawing the blueprint of reform and development for the cross century education based on the "Education Law of the People's republic of China" and the "Guidelines for the Reform and Development of Education in China". In June 1999, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly promulgated the "Decision on the Deepening of Educational Reform and the Full Promotion of Quality Education", clarifying the direction for the establishment of a vital socialistic education with Chinese characteristics in the 21st century.

1993年，中共中央和国务院联合发布了“关于中国教育改革发展的指导”，阐明了直到21世纪前期基础教育发展的方向和基本政策。1999年，国务院批转了由教育部规划的《面向21世纪教育振兴行动计划》，决定实施“科教兴国”战略，并构建了基于《中华人民共和国教育法》的跨世纪教育改革发展蓝图和“中国教育改革发展的指导”。1999年6月，中共中央国务院联合颁布《关于深化教育改革全面推进素质教育的决定》，为21世纪中国特色社会主义教育的建立阐明了方向。

During the past 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, basic education in China has gained tremendous achievements. In 2010, there were 138,209 kindergartens with an enrollment（登记dēngjì） of 15,468,596 young children. In 2010, there were altogether 280,184 primary schools with an enrollment of 17,388,465 students. Primary schools employed totally 6,135,536 full-time staffs and secondary schools employed 5,845,444 full-time staffs. Today, the Nine-Year Compulsory Education (NYCE) had been universalized in the area where 99.7% of the population inhabits, the highest rate among the E-9 countries.

从中华人民共和国成立以来的60年间，中国的基础教育取得了巨大的成就。2010年，我国138209个幼儿园就有15468596名儿童登记入学，280184所小学中有17388465名学生登记入学。小学总共创造了6135536个全职工作岗位，中学也创造了5845444个全职工作岗位。今天，九年义务教育已经在我国99.7%的居民居住区得到普及，其普及率在九个落后的人口大国中是最高的。