Do schools in China teach Cantonese as an elective?

I believe the answer is no in primary and secondary education because Mandarin and only Mandarin is encouraged in school. (We are comparing Mandarin to dialects here) There many dialects in China which caused a lot of problems for communication. read more

They do speak Cantonese with their parents, with their friends and with other Cantonese people. HOWEVER, all classes in school are taught in Mandarin and no elective course of Cantonese is available as this is the ‘POLICY’. read more

Cheung Yung-pong, the principal of S.K.H. St James' Primary School and chairman of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, believes Cantonese is a more effective medium to teach Chinese to Hong Kong students. read more