While the notion of compulsory education seems to indicate that it is free, it is not quite. Parents are still expected to pay for equipment and books and this can amount to £10 a term. This may not seem a lot, but given that the average annual income in rural China is around £450, it is. The expense for families is a huge factor in the dropout rates.

Meanwhile, the provision of private education is on the increase, with expensive, fee-paying schools in the big cities attracting wealthy Chinese families prepared to invest heavily in their children's education. The one-child policy also means that families have more income to devote to educating just one person.

There is huge pressure on young Chinese students to perform and the competition for university places is intense. Children sit examinations at the end of junior-middle school for admission to the senior-middle schools. There are more exams at the end of senior-middle school and then separate university entrance examinations.

The demand for places in university is in excess of supply. China's universities can only cater for 5 per cent of students leaving senior-middle school, with an estimated 20 per cent of those leaving looking for places in college.

Despite the drawbacks and limitations, the Chinese authorities point to considerable achievements in education since the foundation of the People's Republic. They say illiteracy levels have dropped from 18.5 per cent in 1978 to 5.5 per cent in 1998. Enrolment at primary-school level has increased from 20 per cent in 1949 to 99 per cent in 1997. And more than nine in 10 of those who enroll now remain in primary school.

BUT according to the China Education and Research Network, there are still significant problems in rural areas, with drop-out rates in primary and junior- middle school on the increase.

There is also a serious problem with dangerous school-buildings, especially in less developed areas of central and west China. In some places, it is estimated that one in every 20 school-buildings is in a dangerous condition. In the province of Gansu, some reports suggest that nearly one-third of schools are in urgent need of basic renovation. The root cause dates back to the 1970s and 1980s when under-funding led to low-quality construction.

Neither is the lot of teachers a happy one. If teachers in Ireland complain about salary levels, they should spare a thought for their Chinese counterparts, whose current problem is not getting paid at all.

According to an investigation carried out by the National Education Trade Union in 1999, salary payments to teachers are overdue in two-thirds of China's 30 provinces and regions. To date, the arrears payments due to teachers are calculated at over £1 billion. The average teacher's salary in China is £140 a month at primary-school level, £165 a month at middleschool level, and £200 a month at university level. Teachers are considered relatively well paid in Chinese terms, but there are huge disparities between the pay levels in better funded urban schools and those in poverty- stricken rural areas.

So, what does the future hold?

When they turn their mind to something, the Chinese tend to end up getting what they want. The hundreds of thousands of Chinese students who travel the globe every year in search of further education bears testimony to the hunger and determination that exists here to learn and develop.

But, on their own doorstep, the challenge of providing for one in four of the world's school-going children is proving a daunting one for the Chinese authorities. China is still classified as a developing country and nowhere is the need for real, concrete development more apparent than in the area of education.

Only time will tell whether China is up to the challenge.

All figures given are in Irish pounds