China has no plan to extend compulsory education, the education minister said today.

The existing policy covers nine years, from primary school to junior high school, which for most students is ages 7 to 16.

Although some regions have started to provide free preschool and senior high school, the country is not ready to change the national policy, Chen Baosheng, the minister, said at a news conference.

"To extend compulsory education, it would have to go through legislation," he said, adding that nine years is the average for compulsory education worldwide.

He said the development of education cannot go faster than the State's development.