Some counties in Zhanjiang had illiteracy rates as high as 41%, approximately 20 years after the revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, basic education was emphasized and rapidly expanded. The school was no longer as popular as before and education began to decline. The number of Chinese children completing primary school increased from less than half before the Cultural Revolution to almost all after the Cultural Revolution (Lieberthal 34). The number of children who completed primary school increased from 15% to more than two-thirds (Lieberthal 34). “Educational opportunities for children in rural areas have expanded significantly while those for children of the urban elite have been limited by anti-elitist policies” (Liu 67). Chinese leaders at the time denied from the start the existence of any illiteracy problem. This effect was amplified by the elimination of qualified teachers: many districts were forced to rely on select students to educate the next generation. In the post-Mao period, many of those who were forcibly displaced have criticized the policy, calling it a violation of their human rights.