with the law, safeguard the right to compulsory education of school-age children and adolescents.
        Article 5 All children who have reached the age of six shall enrol in school and receive compulsory education for the prescribed number of years, regardless of sex, nationality or race. In areas where that is not possible, the beginning of schooling may be postponed to the age of seven.
        Article 6 Schools shall promote the use of putonghua (common speech based on Beijing pronunciation), which is in common use throughout the nation.
        Schools in which the majority of students are of minority nationalities may use the spoken and written languages of those nationalities in instruction.
        Article 7 Compulsory education shall be divided into two stages: primary school education and junior middle school education. Once primary education has been made universal, junior middle school education shall follow. The department in charge of education under the State Council shall decide on the duration of each stage.
        Article 8 Under the leadership of the State Council, local authorities shall assume responsibility for compulsory education, and it shall be administered at different levels.
        The department in charge of education under the State Council shall, in