International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

Since the 1980s, China has started to carry out the universal nine-year compulsory education system, a large number of rural primary schools and junior high schools are constructed according to the distribution principles of “every village a primary school” and “every rural township a junior high school”. Entering the new century, however, these rural primary and secondary schools are generally facing shortages of enrolling students, due to the “One-Child Policy” and other factors. As a result, China has started to restructure the spatial distribution of rural primary and secondary schools (i.e. school mapping restructure (SMR)). However, due to the impact of administrative divisions, natural, cultural and other factors, the existing methods of adjusting the spatial distribution of rural primary and secondary schools, which involves simply destruction and annexation of individual schools proves to be ineffective, as planning are not systematically carried out. Consequently, there remains significant difficulty for rural students to go to school, due to long travelling distance from home to school, etc. In order to facilitate better planning of the rural school spatial distribution readjustment process, the authors examine rural primary and secondary schools spatial distribution mode at the county level, using the Southeast Region of Guangxi as an example, according to different natural conditions. Relying on an analysis of the status quo administrative structure and school levels, as well as the status quo school spatial distribution, the authors proposed four (4) rural primary and secondary school spatial distribution modes at the county-level, applicable to mountainous regions, plains with low-lying hills and other natural conditions. The authors hope to provide a reference for the renewal and improvement of rural primary and secondary schools distribution at the county level during China’s nation-wide school readjustment process.