Primary education: refers to primary schools.

Secondary education: refers to junior high school and senior high school.

Higher education: refers to higher specialized education, undergraduate education and postgraduate education.

Extended data

1. Preschool education is one of the important contents of preschool education and a part of the scientific system of preschool education. Children are the basic stage of intellectual development in life, and also the fastest developing period. Proper and correct preschool education plays a great role in children's intelligence and future development. The formation and development of supernormal children are related to proper and correct preschool education, especially preschool education in intelligence.

Second, primary education is a dynamic concept. At present, the de facto basic education in China refers to all forms of education before junior high school (including junior high school). In a narrow sense, it refers to nine-year compulsory education. In a broad sense, it should also include family education (abbreviated as tutor) and necessary social life knowledge education. Some people classify high school education as basic education, but this type of education has not been popularized in China at present, so in fact, high school education is not basic education. With the development of China, it is estimated that by 2020, high school education will be basically popularized.

Third, secondary education is an education that continues to be implemented on the basis of primary education. All kinds of schools that implement secondary education are secondary schools, and general secondary schools are its main part, shouldering the dual tasks of conveying qualified freshmen for higher schools and cultivating labor reserve forces for national construction. Ordinary secondary specialized schools and secondary normal schools shoulder the task of cultivating secondary specialized talents for various industries of the national economy. There are also vocational junior high schools, vocational high schools, adult high schools, adult secondary schools and secondary technical schools.

Fourthly, higher education is one of the important interrelated components in the education system. It usually includes all kinds of educational institutions whose main tasks and activities are high-level learning and training, teaching, research and social services. The second half of the 20th century is an unusual stage of expansion and qualitative change in the development history of higher education. The rapid growth of society's demand for senior professionals and the urgent need of individuals for higher education opportunities make higher education develop at an unprecedented speed, from elite education to mass education.