School tests blamed for suicides(2)

Highlights

Preschool education:

Since 2010, the central government has spent more than 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) on preschool education nationwide. The money has mainly been spent on improving public kindergartens and adjoining facilities, as well as improving preschools in China's western regions.

Figures from the Ministry of Education show that over the past three years, 160 billion yuan was invested in preschool education by local governments.

Vocational schools:

The number of vocational schools, or training institutes, has declined noticeably from 181,600 in 2008 to 144,000 in 2012. The number of people working for vocational schools has increased during the same period, from 495,800 in 2008 to 506,600 in 2012. Over that period, these schools have become more diverse and high-tech — about 17 percent provide courses online.

Home education:

More parents are willing to home school their children instead of giving them a traditional education in China.

According to statistics from chinahomeschooling.com, in 2013, there were about 2,000 children that were being educated at home, most of them by their mothers. The children were mostly between 6 to 12 years old.