BEIJING -- China has 186,700 private schools as of 2020, accounting for more than one-third of all Chinese educational institutions, the Ministry of Education said on Monday.

China's private schools educated over 55.64 million students last year, with that figure accounting for nearly one-fifth of all students in China, the ministry said at a press conference on the revised regulations promoting the development of the country's private education sector.

The regulations seek to give equal rights to public and private educational institutions in terms of enrollment and labor contracts, and ensure teachers and students in private schools enjoy rights equal to those in public schools.