As of 20 April, all of China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have either reopened their schools and in some cases universities or set return dates for at least some students – including the worst-affected province of Hubei. All provinces and regions have also rescheduled their Gaokao university entrance exams to 7 - 8 July, while most have also announced postponement of the Zhongkao high school entrance exam taken at age 15.

Although most re-openings are now proceeding according to schedule, this is not always the case. The north-eastern provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang have announced delayed opening dates for final-year junior high school students which were originally scheduled in late April, and local municipal-level governments in Shandong (Jiaozhou) and Sichuan (8 cities) have also announced readjustments of their reopening dates for primary and secondary schools. This is due to a resurgence in the number of cases of Covid-19 in these areas.

At the higher education level, at least 16 provincial-level regions have also announced their arrangements for opening university campuses: Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Jiangsu, Gansu, Guangxi, Shanxi, Ningxia, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Henan, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Shanghai, Tianjin and Yunnan. This re-opening does not include international students or staff currently outside of China as the Chinese border is currently closed to foreigners.

In contrast to basic education, specific dates for universities’ reopening are set by the individual institution – provincial-level announcements set the earliest date that they can reopen rather than requiring them to reopen on that date. For example, although most universities in Jiangsu are preparing to reopen throughout April, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University has announced all delivery will be conducted online and students will not be required to return to the campus. Nanjing University of Aeronatics and Astronautics (NanHang) announced specific arrangements for final-year undergraduate students and postgraduate students to return to campus but no specific dates for other undergraduate students. Likewise Nanjing Agricultural University encouraged final-year students who could stay at home to do so, if there was not an essential reason to return to campus to achieve their final degree.  

The table below shows all currently-announced school reopening dates as of the 20 April. Levels of education not listed in the below – including primary schools and universities in several provinces, as well as non-final-year secondary students in a few areas – do not yet have set times for reopening or rescheduled until further notice.

 

by April 20

  •  Students at all levels in Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Jiangsu (except for those universities announcing individual arrangements respectively)
  •  All primary and secondary school students in Henan
  •  All secondary school students and year 4-6 students in primary school (equivalent to Year 5-7 in the UK) in Zhejiang
  •  All secondary school students in Hainan and Yunnan
  •  All Secondary school students and final-year university students in Gansu
  •  All secondary school students, final-year university and medical school students, and year 4-6 students in primary school in Guangxi (specific dates announced by individual schools and HEIs)
  •  Final-year high school and junior high school students in Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Chongqing
  •  Final-year high school, junior high school and secondary vocational students in Guizhou, Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Hunan, Tianjin, Anhui and Sichuan
  •  Final-year high school students in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Shandong
  •  Final-year high school and vocational high school students, final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students (master and PhD programmes) in Shanxi
  •  Final-year high school and junior high school students, and final-year undergraduate students in Ningxia

After April 20

  •  Remaining secondary school students at all levels in Anhui (specific dates announced by individual schools)

After April 21

  •  Remaining all-level university students in Guangxi (specific dates announced by individual HEIs)
  •  Final-year university students (including postgraduate students) and vocational secondary school students in Guizhou

April 23

  •  Final-year high school students in Hebei
  •  Final-year university students (including postgraduate students for significant projects) in Jiangxi

April 25

  •  Final-year junior high school and vocational high school students in Shanxi
  •  Final-year university students (including postgraduate students for significant projects) in Henan

April 26

  •  Remaining primary school students in Zhejiang
  •  Year 4-6 primary school (equivalent to Year 5-7 in the UK) in Yunnan

April 26 to May 10

  •  University students in Zhejiang (specific dates announced by individual HEIs)

April 27

  •  Final-year high school and junior high school students in Shanghai and Guangdong
  •  Final-year high school students in Beijing
  •  Final-year vocational high school, university (including undergraduate and postgraduate) students, medical school students in Shaanxi
  •  Remaining secondary school students at all levels and year 4-6 primary school (equivalent to Year 5-7 in the UK) in Chongqing

After April 27

  •  Final-year university and vocational high school students in Shanghai (specific dates announced by individual HEIs)

After April 28

  •  Remaining secondary school students in Guizhou

“Early May”

  •  Remaining primary and vocational high school students in Chongqing

“Early or Mid May”

  •  Final-year university, vocational high school and college students in Tianjin

“Mid May”

  •  Remaining students in university, primary and all secondary school students in Guizhou (subject to change)

After May 6

  •  Final-year high school and vocational high school students in Hubei
  •  Final-year university students and remaining primary school students in Yunnan
  •  Remaining university students in Henan and Shaanxi
  •  Final-year university students (including postgraduate students for significant projects) inAnhui

May 7

  •  Final-year junior high school and vocational high school students in Hebei
  •  Remaining university students inJiangxi

After May 11

  •  Final-year junior high school students in Beijing
  •  Remaining secondary school students at all levels and final-year vocational college students inGuangdong (specific dates announced by local education authorities)
  •  Remaining university students inYunnan (specific arrangements announced by individual HEIs)

After May 18

  •  Remaining vocational college students inGuangdong (specific dates announced by individual education institutions)


Comment by International Education Services

The reopening of Chinese schools and universities is good news for UK institutions, particularly those with partnerships and / or recruitment ambitions in China. However, although campuses are reopening, strict security and health and safety measures remain in place for all students and staff.

There are additional challenges for UK institutions’ joint programmes or institutes in China, as the Chinese border is currently closed to non-citizens while Chinese citizens returning to the country must undergo two weeks of quarantine. This means that in many cases it will not be possible to provide in-person classes taught by UK teaching staff, even if the parent university has reopened. Institutions should communicate with their Chinese partners to coordinate plans and ensure they are up to date with all necessary procedures and protocol.