My experience concurs. I live in China, where nearly every student (starting in first grade!) studies English. A great take private English lessons as well.

I'm not sure how well this extends to rural areas. In the few villages I have visited, I saw several private English schools; however, those villages were not far from larger population centers.

That said, most of the people to whom I have spoken are not close to fluent. Even by high school, they cannot carry on a basic conversation.