Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 The Present Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution and the Education Law with a view to implementing the strategy of developing the country by relying on science and education, promoting the sound development of non-state education undertaking and protect the legal rights and interests of private schools and the educated.

Article 2 The present Law shall be applicable to the activities that any public organs or individuals, except for the state organs, run schools or other educational institutions to meet the demand of the society by utilizing non-state financial funds. Those not covered by the present Law shall be in accordance with the Education Law and other laws governing education.

Article 3 Non-state education is a public undertaking. It’s a part of the socialist education undertakings.

The country adopts the policies of active encouragement, full support, correct guidance, and administration by law.

The people’s governments of all levels shall list the non-state education undertaking into the programs of national economy and social development.

Article 4 A non-state school shall abide by the laws and regulations, follow the state’s educational policies, guarantee the education quality and commit itself to the training of talents for the cause of socialist construction.

Non-state schools shall abide by the principle of separating education from religion. No organization or individual may make use of religion to conduct activities that interfere with the educational system of the State.

Article 5 Non-state schools and public schools are of the same legal status. The state protects the non-state schools’ autonomy of operation.

The state protects the lawful rights and interests of the founder(s), the president, the faculty and the educated of a non-state school.

Article 6 The state encourages donations to running schools.

The state will award and commend those bodies and individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the development of non-state education undertaking.

Article 7 The administrative department for education under the State Council shall be responsible for the overall planning, comprehensive coordination and macro-management of non-state education work of the whole nation.

The administrative departments for labor & social security and other relevant departments under the State Council shall, within their respective functions and responsibilities defined by the State Council, be responsible for the different aspects of non-state education.

Article 8 The educational administrative departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall manage the non-state education within their respective administrative area.

The administrative departments for labor & social security and other relevant departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, within their respective functions and responsibilities, be responsible for the different aspects of non-state education.　

Chapter II Establishment

Article 9 The social bodies applying for the establishment of a non-state school shall be qualified as a legal person.

As for the individuals that run non-state schools shall have political rights and full civil capacity.

Article 10 The establishment of a non-state school shall meet the needs of the development of local education and shall satisfy the requirements in the Education Law and relevant other laws and regulations.

The standards for the establishment of a non-state school shall be executed by reference to those for the establishment of a state school of the same level and category.

Article 11 Those non-state schools engaging in diploma education, pre-school education, self-taught examination, and other cultural education shall subject to the examination and approval of the administrative departments for education of the people’s governments at or above the county level in accordance with their authorities defined by the state. Those non-state schools mainly engaging in training of professional skills and vocational qualifications shall subject to the examination and approval of the administrative departments for labor & social security in accordance with their authorities defined by the state and shall submit a copy to the educational administrative departments for archival purposes.

Article 12 In applying for the preparations of establishing a non-state school, the applicant shall submit the following materials to the examination and approval organ:

(1)An application. An application shall include such elements as the founder, purposes, scale, level, form, conditions, interior management system, financing and management etc.

(2) The founder’s name, domicile or name and address.

(3) Sources of the assets, the amount of the fund and effective evidential documents, which shall clearly include the property ownership.

(4) As for the donated school assets, an agreement of donation shall be submitted and it shall include the name of the donator(s), the amount of the donated assets, uses and management methods and relevant effective certification documents.

Article 13 Within 30 days as of the acceptance of the application, the examination and approval organ shall make a decision of approval or disapproval in written form.

It shall issue a letter of ratification for the establishment preparations to the approved applicants. And it shall give explanations to the disapproved.

The term for the establishment preparations shall not exceed 3 years. For those exceeding 3 years, the founder(s) shall re-file the application.

Article 14 Applying for establishing a non-state school in due form, the founder shall submit the following materials to the examination and approval organ:

(1)the letter of ratification for the establishment preparations;

(2)a report on the proceeding of the establishment preparations;

(3)articles of incorporation of the school, the name of the members in the first school council, the board of directors and other decision-making bodies;

(4)valid certification documents of the school assets;

(5)evidential qualification documents of the president, the teachers and the accountants.

Article 15 Those that meet the requirements for running a school and reach the establishment standards may directly apply for the establishment in due form and shall submit the materials as required in Article 12 and paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of Article 14 of the present Law.

Article 16 Within 3 months as of the acceptance of an application for establishing a non-state school in due form, the examination and approval organ shall make a decision of approval or disapproval in written form, and which shall be served to the applicant. As for an applicant for establishing a non-state college or university, the examination and approval organ may make a decision of approval or disapproval in written form within 6 months as of the acceptance of the application, and the decision shall be served to the applicant.

Article 17 The examination and approval organ shall issue a license to the non-state schools approved to be established in due form.

The examination and approval organ shall give explanations to those disproved.

Article 18 A non-state school shall obtain the license and register in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations. And the registration organ shall handle the procedures instantly pursuant to relevant regulations.

Chapter III The Organizations and Activities of a School

Article 19 A non-state school shall establish a school council, a board of directors and other forms of decision-making bodies.

Article 20 The school council or the board of directors shall be organized by the founders, or their representative(s), the president, the representative(s) of the faculty and staff. More than 1/3 of the members of the school council or the board of the directors shall have more than five years of educational and teaching experiences.
The school council or the board of directors shall consist of at least five persons, with one acting as the director-general of the school council or chairman of the board of directors. Their names shall be reported to the examination and approval organ for archival purposes.

Article 21 The school council or the board of directors shall exercise the following functions and powers:

(1) to appoint and to dismiss the president of the school;

(2) to modify the articles of incorporation of the school and to formulate the school rules & regulations;

(3) to make development program and to ratify annual work plan;

(4) to raise funds for the school, to check the budget and the final accounts;

(5) to decide the number of faculty and staff and the wage standards;

(6) to decide the division, merge and termination of the school;

(7) to decide other significant matters.

The functions and powers of other forms of decision-making bodies shall be executed by reference to this Article.

Article 22 The legal representative of a non-state school shall be the director-general of the school council or the chairman of the board of directors or the president.

Article 23 Non-state schools appoint their presidents by referring to the appointment requirements for the presidents of public schools of the same type and level, but the age requirement may be appropriately loosened, and the candidates shall be reported to the examination and approval authority for examination and approval.

Article 24 The president of a non-state school shall be in charge of teaching and administrative work. He (she) shall exercise the following functions and powers:

(1)to execute the decisions made by the school council, the board of directors and other forms decision-making bodies;

(2)to carry out the development program, to make annual work plans, financial budget and to formulate school rules & regulations;

(3)to employ and dismiss the faculty and staff members, to give them award or punishments;

(4)to launch activities of teaching and scientific research, to ensure the teaching quality;

(5)to take charge of the routine management of the school;

(6)other powers authorized by the school council, the board of directors and other forms of decision-making bodies.

Article 25 In accordance with pertinent regulations, a non-state school may confer its students a diploma, or a certificate of completion, or a training course certificate in light of their respective category, required number of years of schooling and scores.

For the students who accept vocational training, those have been appraised as qualified by the certifying agency ratified by the government may be conferred a national vocational qualifications certificate.

Article 26 A non-state school shall ensure the faculty and staff’s participation in the democratic management and supervision through the faculty and staff representative assembly, in which the teachers are the principal, or through other forms.

The teachers and other workers of a non-state school are entitled to establish a labor union in accordance with the Trade Union Law for the purposes of protecting their legitimate rights and interests.

Chapter IV Teachers and the Educated

Article 27 The teachers and the educated have the same legal status as those of a public school.

Article 28 The teachers employed by a non-state school shall be qualified in teaching as required by the state.

Article 29 A non-state school shall provide moral education and professional training for the teachers.

Article 30 In accordance with the law, a non-state school shall ensure the faculty and staff’s wages and welfare treatments and pay the fees of social insurance on their behalf.