The characteristics of the education system include objectivity, orientation, historicity and compulsion.

(1) objectivity

As an institutionalized thing, the education system is formulated by people in a certain era according to their own needs. Although the formulation of the education system reflects people's subjective wishes and special value needs, the formulation or abolition of the education system has its objective basis and laws to follow. This objective basis and regularity are mainly determined by the development level of social productive forces.

(2) Positioning

Any educational system is formulated by its makers according to their own needs, and it has its own position. In class society, the orientation of the education system is mainly manifested in its class nature, that is, the education system always embodies the value orientation of a certain class and always serves the interests of a certain class. Socialist education should serve the interests of the broad masses of the people, guarantee and meet the growing cultural and educational needs of the broad masses of the people to the greatest extent, and embody the guiding characteristics of socialist education.

(3) Historicity

Education system is not only the reflection of objective reality, but also the choice and embodiment of orientation. The specific content of objectivity and orientation changes with the changes of society. Therefore, in different social and historical periods and different cultural backgrounds, there will be different systems and different education systems need to be established.

(4) Mandatory

As the norm of educational system activities, educational system is oriented to the whole educational system. In a sense, the education system is independent of the individual, which has a certain coercive effect on the individual's behavior.

The education system will develop and change with the development of society, showing different development conditions at different stages of social and historical development. Therefore, education should adapt to the development and changes of society, adjust measures to local conditions, teach students in accordance with their aptitude, and cultivate high-quality talents to adapt to social development.