Agenda
The Mid-and-Long Term Education Reform and Development Programs (2010-2020), issued by the Ministry of Education (MoE), was officially approved in May, 2010. China intends to keep increasing investment on education and gradually increase the proportion of national financial education fund expenditure in the GDP to 4% till the year 2012.Furthermore, China will universalize preschool education, consolidate and improve the nine-year compulsory education, emphasize to promote the balanced development of compulsory education and accelerate the universalization of senior middle school education.
Institutional structure
The educational affairs in China are mainly administrated by the Ministry of Education of China. The affiliated organizations of the Ministry of Education are composed of over 30 organizations, and include a certain number of administrative bodies, scientific research institutes, higher education institutions, TV and radio programs, as well as publishers.
History
Chinese education can be traced back to about 2200 B.C. Education was exclusively an elite privilege during this time. It wasn’t until the advent of Confucianism 1000 years later that education became, in theory, accessible to common people. The history of Chinese education is closely related to Confucian thought, which teaches that education is the path to self-improvement and that anyone can rise up through study and perseverance.
Starting in the early 600s AD, anyone in ancient China could work their way up in life by passing a series of examinations given by the government. At the end of the early 20th century, the Confucian system and imperial examinations were abolished as it was thought not to encourage scientific advancement, and a more western styled system was introduced.
Current Status
The number of annual university graduates has increased by six times, from 1.1 million to 6.1 million between 2001 and 2009, thanks in large part to increased government spending. Furthermore, it is forecasted that that the number of graduates will reach 7.6 million in 2011. Degree holders now represent 7.4 percent of the total population, with overall literacy standing at 92.2 percent.
The MoE and other government authorities are working on various initiatives to help graduates to find employment, and China´s State Council has pledged RMB 42 billion to tackle the issue of unemployment and has implemented measures aimed at creating more job opportunities.
Key Policies
Decentralization
Education policy has been undergoing great transformation in China since the initiation of economic reforms in the late 1970s. In line with the development of the market-oriented economy and its increasing integration with the global market, a more pragmatic perception of education has gradually taken shape in the post-Mao era, resulting in the decentralization and marketization of education in China.
National examinations
One of the most important examinations for Chinese students is the national admission examination, known as gaokao, since their scores determine not only where they go to college but what they will study. During the two-day exam, 9.57 million students [in 2010] competed for 6.57 million places at China's universities, from elite research institutions to small vocational colleges.
The grading system for the gaokao has historically been complex, opaque, and based on residence rights. Provinces first set a local-student quota for each college and major, then work out what portion of students to take from other parts of China.
This system hands a huge advantage to pupils in Beijing or Shanghai, who automatically have a better chance of getting into a top-flight university than do out-of-towners with higher scores.
Prioritising key disciplines
Project 211 is the Chinese government's new endeavour aimed at strengthening about 100 institutions of higher education and key disciplinary areas as a national priority for the 21st century. The programme was initiated in 1995 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.
China now has more than 1,700 standard institutions of higher education; around 6% of these are 211 Project institutions. 211 Project schools take on the responsibility of training four-fifths of doctoral students, two-thirds of graduate students, half of students abroad and one-third of undergraduates. They offer 85% of the State's key subjects, hold 96% of the State's key laboratories and utilise 70% of scientific research funding.
Expansion of enrolment
Faced with the challenge to adapt to the needs of a market economy, an unprecedented expansion in opportunities for higher education has been taking place in China since 1998. During the period from 1998 to 2004, the enrolment of new regular undergraduate students on average grew by about 26.9% annually, increasing from 1.08 million in 1998 to 4.47 million in 2004. As a result the total enrolment of regular undergraduate students in Chinese higher education increased from 3.41 million in 1998 to 13.33 million in 2004. The enrolment of adult students also increased from 2.82 million to 4.20 million during the same period.
A variety of factors is believed to have led to the expanded enrolment, including the expectation to stimulate domestic consumption and to ease the immediate pressure on the labour market, the high public interest in and demand for higher education in Chinese society, and the political will of the Chinese government to develop higher education
Key Figures
Participation in education
(*The GER may be greater than 100% when students younger or older than the official age for a given level of education are enrolled in that level.)
Gross pre-primary enrolment rate (2010): 57%*
Gross primary enrolment rate (2010): 110%*
Gross secondary enrolment rate (2010): 80%*
Gross tertiary enrolment rate (2010): 29%*
Resources for education
Ratio of pupil to teacher (primary): 17 (2010)
Public expenditure on education in % of GDP (2010): 3.66 %
Public expenditure on education as % of total government expenditure (1999): 13.0
Challenges
Stratification
Chinese higher education system is quite stratified, which implies different levels of universities with different reputations, financial resources, and administrative bodies. The elite universities enjoy strong state patronage while the rest are largely left on their own.
Graduate employment
Every year millions of Chinese students graduate from universities across the country, with numbers increasing. Despite the country's booming economy, many of them have difficulties finding work. Fewer vacancies and more competition means that not everyone can be certain of finding a job, especially not a well-paid one.
In 2009, the government implemented a series of measures, such as a graduate internship scheme, and raised the employment rate from 70 percent in 2008 to 87 percent. Furthermore, the government is encouraging graduates to join the army or work and teach in remote and disadvantaged areas, such as China´s central and western regions, for a few years after graduation.
Education in Rural Areas
Primary education in rural China has been marginalised for a considerable period of time. It is compromised, firstly, by the societal emphasis on economic development that puts more immediate and measurable economic growth ahead of a more long-term and less visible improvement in educational development. Secondly, it is weakened by the fact that urban education enjoys more attention and resource input from the central government.
Due to the lack of public educational funding in rural areas, children from peasant families are usually forced to drop out of schools at the junior high, or even primary, level, thus losing the opportunity to take the national College Entrance Examination to further their studies at institutes of higher learning.
Education of Migrant Children
Despite the fact that all Chinese children are entitled to a state education, not all of them get one. The millions of children born by migrant workers are among the most vulnerable, owing to a registration system, called hukou that divides the country's citizens into rural and urban dwellers, and dictates their rights accordingly. The registration system is inherited and as a result, migrant children can only obtain access to social services as education in the province where their parents were born.
Around 19 million migrant children are believed to be without access to free education, and are therefore dependent on private schools, which demand a fee that many migrant workers cannot afford. The last option are the so called “migrant schools”, which recently have been under severe challenges, as the government has decided to close down them due their officially illegal status.
Transition to Globalisation
Progressing International Partnerships
The implementation of the China 2020 National Mid-to-Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan presents a series of exciting opportunities for countries and institutions wishing to enhance their engagement and develop partnerships with China.
Globalisation > Social > Education > Basic
Transition to Political Tools
International organizations
The idea of the AUN-China cooperation was initiated during the discussion between the Chairman of the AUN and H.E. Madame Chen Zhili, the Minister of Education of the People's of Republic of China (PRC) in October 1999 and April 2000 in Bangkok. After the Meeting, the “ASEAN-China Academic Co-operation and Exchange Programme” outlining possible collaborative activities between the PRC and ASEAN in the fields of human resources development and higher education, was proposed.
Political Tools > National > China > Dom. Policies > Social > Education
Transition to Political Actors
Private investments’ involvement in Education
Private education is a sunrise industry in China, with overall education and training spending in the country growing at an estimated compound annual growth rate of at least 20 percent from 2008 to 2013. There were 579,008 institutions in the education and training industry in 2008, of which 120,526 were private institutions.
Political Actors > Business > Interest Organisation
