The Chinese government has all along attached great importance to special education. The state has issued a whole set of laws and regulations that make explicit stipulations on safeguarding the rights of the disabled to education. By the end of 2002, China had 1,540 special education schools, more than twice the figure of 10 years ago, and over 375,000 students, five times the figure 10 years ago. Throughout the country there are more than 1,000 training institutions for the disabled and close to 3,000 regular vocational training institutions accepting disabled people. There are more than 1,700 rehabilitation institutions for deaf infants operating in China, and over 70,000 children have been or are being trained there. In 2001, 2,166 disabled students entered regular institutions of higher learning. In September 2002, the Foreign Languages College of Shanghai Normal University enrolled a blind student, the first to enter a regular institution of higher learning after passing the college entrance examination.

The Vocational Education Law was issued in 1996. China's vocational education is composed of advanced vocational schools, secondary technical schools, skilled workers' schools, vocational middle schools, job training centers and other technical training schools for adults, and training institutions run by social forces or individuals. Secondary vocational education has been developing fast. In 2001, secondary vocational schools had 11.64 million students, twice that of 1988; and from 1989 to 2001, secondary vocational education (including regular polytechnic schools, vocational senior high schools, skilled workers' schools and polytechnic schools for adults) altogether trained more than 45 million graduates. In 2001, some 386 advanced vocational schools were established independently, with 720,000 students, 12 times that of 1985. To accelerate the development of vocational education in the western areas, the state has used government bonds to set up 186 vocational education centers in poverty-stricken counties in the west.