context: To boost overall consumption capacity, Lan Fo'an 蓝佛安 Finance minister stated at a press conference on 12 October that a series of policy measures will be introduced, including increased support for key groups. The next step will be enhancing financial aid and reward programs for students.
In 2023, the national government allocated C¥93.2 bn to assist over 31 million higher education students. Through interest subsidies and other policies, banks were supported in issuing C¥70 bn in national student loans.
The Ministry of Finance will enhance the financial aid policy for university students in two stages, focusing on rewarding excellence and supporting those in need, explains Guo Tingting 郭婷婷 Finance vice minister
context: Ideological education is increasingly emphasised under the leadership of Xi Jinping 习近平. The newly updated textbooks for compulsory education strongly emphasise Xi Jinping Thoughts. On 1 September 2024, Xi published an article in Qiushi titled ‘Cultivating well-rounded socialist builders and successors who are developed in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labour education’. The article incorporates parts of his speech at the national education conference in Beijing on 10 September 2018.
Xi Jinping 习近平 contends that the PRC education system must not produce individuals who undermine socialism, nor should it cultivate people who ‘look Chinese but lack Chinese spirit, sentiment and character’. He notes the need to avoid this historical error at all costs, with no room for compromise or ambiguity.
Xi lays out the qualities he is looking for in the next generation of students, including
The article stresses the importance of textbook development, highlighting that textbooks are
Textbooks should
context: China’s total investment in education exceeds C¥6.4 tn in 2023, while the proportion of fiscal education expenditure to GDP also fell to 4.001 percent, approaching the 4 percent ‘red line’ threshold below the world average of 4.3 percent and OECD average of 4.9 percent. Despite the need to maintain a stable education-to-GDP ratio, the provincial audit highlights the pressing need for stricter regulation of education fund usage.
The 2023 national audit report brought attention to misappropriation of nutritious meal fund in rural areas and the provincial report reveals specifics in each region
Some provinces are facing significant issues with education funding,
Some provincial audits have identified issues in the management and use of funds for higher education development
context: As mentioned in the 2024 Government Work Report 'invigorating China through science and education' is still a focus in the Third Plenum Resolution. Education was mentioned 36 times in the resolution and ‘education and science talents’ prioritised to be the foundations of Chinese modernisation to serve a greater national strategy.
The Third Plenum Resolution calls for a comprehensive reform of education and scitech talent systems.
context: As the PRC places more emphasis on vocational education to cultivate workers with technical skills, graduates from vocational schools still face stigma and are seen as ‘less educated’ than university students. Provincial governments tend to provide less beneficial talent policies towards secondary vocational school graduates compared to university or college level graduates. Experts believe this hinders local development and the respective talent policies should be reformed.
Local governments should treat secondary vocational school graduates and university graduates equally in their talent policies, providing the same support and guarantees, advocates Xiong Bingqi 熊丙奇 21st Century Education Research Institute director. By including secondary vocational school graduates in talent policy support, local governments can
Xiong points out that
To improve local development, Xiong suggests
context: In 2011, the State Council launched the 'Nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students' to reduce malnutritious and improve education quality. The Ministry of Education issued measures to enforce management of the plan. However, at the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee's tenth meeting, Hou Kai 侯凯 auditor general presented the 2023 audit report on budget execution that displays significant obstacles.
The State Council audited C¥23.137 bn of subsidy funds from 2021 to August 2023 across 159 counties in 13 provinces, and identified three main issues hindering the effectiveness of their 'Nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students'.
According to MoE (Ministry of Education), five years after the plan started, the central government has allocated C¥160 bn, and local pilot zones have allocated C¥23 bn for the nutrition meal subsidy program. The program covers 137,000 schools, benefiting 20.97 million students in 699 national pilot counties and 12.64 million students in 803 local pilot counties.
However, reports by Liu Shanhuai 刘善槐 and Wu Zhihui 邬志辉 Northeast Normal University Rural Education Development Institute professors in 2015 and 2016 have shown that the funding of the ‘nutritious meal program’ is not timely, and schools need to pay in advance by borrowing money from teachers and parents. Specific causes include
To improve the plan’s execution, Liu and Wu suggested more government funds for relevant staff. Funds’ management refinement is the key to tackle the aforementioned issues, contends Li Tao 李涛 Northeast Normal University Rural Education Development Research Institute distinguished professor. He suggests
context: 2024 marks the tenth year since the gaokao (national university entrance examination) reform in 2014. This year’s gaokao commenced with a record-breaking 13.42 million registrants on 7 June, an increase of 510,000 from 2023. The number is expected to continue rising before hitting an inflection then going into sharp decline.
The current number of registrants for the gaokao (national university entrance examination) includes not just those sitting for the exam, contends Chen Zhiwen 陈志文 National Education Examination Steering Committee expert group member
According MEE (Ministry of Education), in 2023, China's total enrolment in regular and vocational undergraduate and associate degree programs was 10.422 million, a 2.73 percent increase from 2022
The university admission rate through the gaokao has steadily increased over time
Although the number of applicants for gaokao has continued to rise in recent years, the admission rate for different groups has steadily increased. Tougher undergraduate assessment is needed to ensure educational quality, argues Xiong Bingqi 熊丙奇 21st Century Education Research Institute director. He attributed the significant rise in gaokao registrations to policy changes that support vocational education.
Since 2019, China has
As of 2024, 29 provinces across China have initiated comprehensive gaokao reforms. Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Gansu are among the seven provinces implementing these reforms in the fourth batch. The final fifth batch, consisting of eight provinces and regions, will implement the new gaokao format in 2025.
context: 29 provinces have implemented gaokao (national university entrance exam) reform in five stages since 2014. Aiming to make the gaokao assessment more holistic, the initial two groups of pilot cities adopted the ‘3+3’ model to replace the old subject divide between humanities and science. Met with unforeseen consequences, the Ministry of Education proceeded the reform with the ‘3+1+2’ model with specific undergraduate subject prerequisites to cultivate STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) majors.
The first batch of city pilot zones to carry out gaokao (national university entrance exam) reforms (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong and Hainan) adopted the ‘3+3’ elective model where students had to take three mandatory subjects (Chinese, maths and a foreign language) and three elective subjects (among ideology and politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry and biology). This aimed to promote a more holistic education.
However, this model led to
Recognising the downsides of the ‘3+3’ model, the ‘3+1+2’ model is now being promoted, with 23 provinces adopting it
The ‘3+1+2’ model is seen by some as a return to the previous humanities/science divide, but Sun Jinming 孙锦明 Jiangxi Normal University professor and Foundation Research Institute director points out the differences, including
Students began avoiding taking chemistry under the ‘3+1+2’ model, which led the MoE (Ministry of Education) to release 'Guidelines for required elective subjects' in 2021. Chen Zhiwen 陈志文 National Education Examination Steering Committee expert explains that the PRC is enforcing more students to take physics and chemistry as
context: MoE (Ministry of Education) has launched dedicated AI education bases for primary and secondary education to foster growth and innovation in this area. At the 2024 Two Sessions, enthusiasm among representatives and members was palpable as they delved into discussions on enhancing science education and exploring the potential of AI to empower the education landscape.
In a unified effort to transform China's education system through technology, Two Sessions delegates and experts propose integrating AI into the educational framework.
Lei Jun 雷军 NPC (National People's Congress) representative and Xiaomi CEO points to the necessity of embedding AI literacy within the nine-year compulsory education. Lei underlines the critical demand for professionals with fundamental AI skills, emphasising that such talent is crucial for the PRC's technological innovation and industrial progress.
Lei calls for increased investment in AI discipline development and collaborative efforts with global research institutions, to cultivate interdisciplinary talents.
Yin Jie 印杰 ShanghaiTech University's executive vice president argues for incorporating AI training for teachers to leverage AI in enhancing teaching efficacy. He advocates for versatile textbooks suitable for remote learning and emphasises the need for essential resources like software and computing power for student activities.
Liu Xiya 刘希娅 NPC representative points out the challenges in digital education development, including the limited awareness of AI's impact and teachers' inadequate use of AI technology. She recommends specialised training to improve AI usage and urges MoE (Ministry of Education) and MoF (Ministry of Finance) to invest more in AI resources for schools, particularly in remote areas, and to establish pilot zones to explore innovative digital education applications.
Liu Qingfeng 刘庆峰 NPC representative and iFlytek chair advocates for the rapid development of education-specific large models on secure computing platforms and the utilisation of general large models to refine teaching methods and develop intelligent teacher assistants.
The China Democratic League Central Committee proposed focusing on autonomous and personalised learning, enhancing teachers' digital literacy, creating interdisciplinary AI curricula and innovating teaching models with AI.
Together, these recommendations represent a collective vision for a future where education in the PRC is deeply integrated with AI, paving the way for a new era of digital and personalised learning.
context: Parents in Xi'an have accused students from the neighbouring province of Henan of exploiting household registration policies to have their children take the high school exam in Xi'an, thereby reducing local students' chances of attending elite high schools. This ongoing controversy over educational migration highlights concerns about regional education disparities and the fairness and competitiveness of an exam-centric system.
Given factors such as geography, education resources and local economic development, educational migration across regions is typically a forced decision for the marginalised groups, argues Chu Zhaohui 储朝晖 National Institute of Education Sciences researcher, reports Caixin.
The issues surrounding cross-provincial student returnees for the Xi'an high school entrance exam, zhongkao, have been controversial. These returnees refer to students registered as residents in Xi'an but studying in other locations who return to take the exam. The policy was originally designed to cater to Xi'an students who relocated with their parents. However, the emergence of an interprovincial schooling industry, attracting students from other provinces, has brought the policy under scrutiny.
Local residents claim that many of the returnees are unqualified for the policy. Following an investigation, authorities have cracked down on intermediaries and training institutions engaging in providing fraudulent qualifications for attending local exams. This is followed by releasing a new admission procedure for returnees that does not affect the original enrolment quota. Nonetheless, the controversy remains unsettled.
Further attention has been directed towards the Xi'an education system due to the growing influx of students from other regions vying for admission to the city's top five elite high schools. With the surge in applicants, competition for these premium educational resources has become intense.
The issue is closely tied to the covert interprovincial schooling industry, in which parents and students from other underserved regions take advantage of Xi'an's lenient household registration policies to sit for high school exams, aiming for better education prospects. Some schools and institutions capitalise on this practice, providing all-inclusive services such as registration help, policy analysis, exam training, and more.
context: The nine-year compulsory education system, which was implemented in 1986, has been in place for over three decades. This year's Government Work Report sets the target to increase the average number of years of education for the working-age population to 11.3 years by 2025. Whether the current system can support that goal is questionable.
Proposals to extend compulsory ed from nine to twelve years sparked heated debates at the just concluded 2023 Two Sessions, reports China News Weekly.
GDP has increased from 1 trillion yuan in 1986 to 120 trillion yuan in 2022, which makes it possible to extend compulsory education to twelve years, says Chen Zhongyi 陈众议 CASS (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) academician and NPC delegate, arguing that extending compulsory education would not only ease the involution in primary and junior high school ed but also cushion the impact of streaming between general and vocational education.
Cai Fang 蔡昉 CASS vice-president argues that an improvement in the educational qualifications of enterprise workers can increase labour productivity.
However, many experts consider that extending the number of years of education for nationals will necessitate first solving a range of issues.
Xiong Bingqi 熊丙奇 21st Century Education Institute director indicates that in order to bring high school education into compulsory education, it is necessary to first achieve a balanced development of high schools.
Twelve years of compulsory education seems too lengthy, says Ruan Shiwei 阮诗玮 CPPCC member, who suggests shortening the school year, abolishing zhongkao (the high school entrance exam) and separating general and vocational education while incorporating high school into compulsory education.
However, in the opinion of other education experts, a reduced school term is not a good option.
According to Chu Zhaohui 储朝晖 National Institute of Education Sciences researcher, the current length of schooling fits well with children's developmental, cognitive and psychological development.
The proposal to shorten the school system is derived from the catalyst of examination-based education, says Xiong, adding that compressing the school system would not only seriously affect the quality of basic education, but also strengthen the tendency to focus only on knowledge-based education and marginalise other education.
Compulsory education should be extended to the preschool year, including the use of existing kindergarten resources and the opening of preschool classes in primary schools, says Yuan Zhenguo 袁振国 East China Normal University Faculty of Education director, in the belief this could effectively utilise spare resources, save schooling costs and improve schooling efficiency.
To enhance the years of education for citizens, free high school education could also be an alternative, suggests Xiong Bingqi.
context: With commitments to carbon neutrality reaffirmed at the 20th Party Congress, Beijing aims to spur momentum in decarbonisation, this time, by highlighting the role of education in top-level design. This is a necessary step toward getting the younger generation on board for a sustainable future.
context: With commitments to carbon neutrality reaffirmed at the 20th Party Congress, Beijing aims to spur momentum in decarbonisation, this time, by highlighting the role of education in top-level design. This is a necessary step toward getting the younger generation on board for a sustainable future. On 8 November, the Ministry of Education unveiled a roadmap for integrating green and low-carbon development with the education system. The national plan outlines
context: The updated foreign investment negative list further shortens the list of restricted items from 33 (2020 version) to 31, and allows greater access in the services sector in FTZs (free trade zones). On the other hand, national security-related sectors will remain closed to foreign investors and a new ban on media sector investment will take effect next year.
NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission) and MofCOM (Ministry of Commerce) jointly issued ‘2021 foreign investment market access special management measures (negative list)', specifying
An FTZ version of the 2021 negative list with 27 restricted items was released at the same time, allowing full foreign market access in manufacturing. Previous restrictions in automobile manufacturing, such as caps on foreign shareholding and the number of joint ventures owned by a single firm, were eliminated.
context: Secondary voc ed enrolment has been declining over the past decade, as voc ed is seen as inferior to academic high school education. Debates on how to manage secondary voc ed continue and experts are divided on its future.
In April, MoE (Ministry of Education) ordered the expansion of secondary vocational education admission to the level of high schools admission. Voc ed remains the last resort for students with low grades despite the state’s increasing emphasis. The low status and inconsistent quality of voc ed led to the debate on whether secondary voc ed should be replaced by universal high school education.
Making voc ed schools another pathway to attending good universities will allow voc ed schools to recruit better students, and should be the future orientation of secondary voc ed, argues Jin Weidong 金卫东 Hangzhou Renmin Vocational School headmaster. In Zhejiang, the “3+4” joint voc-ed and undergraduate degree program has been successful in attracting academically strong students because it secures a place in good universities and better job prospects.
However, the “3+4” programs can become too exam-oriented when fulfilling the connecting universities’ requirements, reports Sanlian Lifeweek. As vocational universities and tertiary vocational education are expanded, MoE ordered the suspension of “3+4” programs.
Others argue that voc ed should not be simply a stepping stone to universities. Many voc ed graduates pursue college degrees for the fear of social prejudices, leading to low quality of training and credential inflation in the job market, argues Xiong Bingqi 熊丙奇 president of 21st Century Education Research in Huanqiu. Vocational education should be entirely skill-oriented, and separating the academic and vocational education tracks once basic education is completed is more efficient for building a highly skilled labour force, says Xiong.
context: Recent intensification of tech strangleholds has given more impetus to developing basic disciplines in higher education. The 2.0 version of the Plan has seen rapid growth, and the new initiative aims to tie higher education closer to national strategies in technology. But attracting talents in these areas cannot rely entirely on personal devotion. Better pay and welfare are needed.
Ministry of Education released the first batch of bases for ‘Plan to cultivate students in Basic Disciplines 2.0’ (formerly known as the ‘Everest project’) on 17 Sep 2020. In total, 33 universities are selected.
Meanwhile, the inaugural ‘Initiative to Enhance Basic Disciplines’ struggled to recruit enough students, reports 21st Century Business Herald. Many universities fell well short of recruitment plans, though Tsinghua University managed to recruit more students than planned. Experts believe many students are unsure about devoting themselves to basic disciplines. The Plan is more popular, as it allows students to pick a different major for graduate studies. The Initiative, meanwhile, prohibits students from transferring to another program.
The target of the Initiative is also unclear. The Plan explicitly targets students involved in academic competitions. These students are usually specialised in competitions, preventing them from meeting the gaokao requirements for the Initiative. Only students winning top or second prizes could join the Initiative, but these students are relatively few. In fact, all of them have been snapped up by Peking and Tsinghua University. Eventually, many students without outstanding gaokao scores were recruited.
Thus, adjustments are needed. An anonymous expert suggests students be allowed to apply to multiple universities offering the Initiative. Gaokao requirements could also be lowered and more universities could be included.
The poor reception of the Initiative is not entirely unexpected, and 21st Century Business Herald asks for patience. Stricter requirements may drive away students but those admitted would be truly committed.
context: Although some were originally concerned about their ability to adapt, sino-foreign cooperative universities have settled in well. Alternative ideas and methods from sino-foreign cooperative universities may serve as inspiration for reforms, since earlier debates about university admissions failed to make breakthroughs. But given that many of these universities were established for political considerations, their future influence may be limited.
Since University of Nottingham Ningbo China was set up in 2004, nine sino-foreign cooperative universities have appeared in China. They are increasingly attractive to top students in the country, observes 21st Century Business Herald.
In terms of gaokao scores, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK Shenzhen) attracted top 0.5 percent humanities-track students and top 1.5 percent science-track students in 15 provinces in 2018. Student caliber improves every year, said Xu Yangshen 徐扬生 CUHK Shenzhen president, due to CUHK Shenzhen’s dedication to undergraduate education and outstanding graduate placements.
These universities are highly internationalised. CUHK Shenzhen offers many exchange programs to students, for example, and 30 percent of faculty at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University are foreigners, where 86 percent of the Class of 2018 graduates chose to study abroad and all courses are taught in English beginning in the second semester of freshman year.
Experts expect competition from sino-foreign universities to spill over to other higher education institutions. New ideas have been brought in from abroad, and in admissions, for example, most sino-foreign cooperative universities do not rely solely on gaokao scores. New York University Shanghai evaluates candidates’ performances in simulated classes and interviews, as well as their English writing skills and ability to work in a team.
Chu Zhaohui 储朝晖 National Institute of Education Science research fellow has consistently called for multi-dimensional admissions criteria. But Chu does not believe sino-foreign universities will change the larger landscape, given their small number. He is pessimistic about their future, arguing they are built more for political reasons rather than real market demand.
context: China Youth Daily published a special report on how distance learning courses offered by Chengdu No.7 High School have provided students in Yunnan Quanlu No.1 Middle School higher chances of success in gaokao exams. The article provoked wide debate in the media on the role of education as 'the great equalizer' in upward social mobility and the impact of skills-based technological change on the equality of opportunity.
While the story of 'life changed by a small screen' is promising, the role of live streaming video in bridging the rural-urban digital divide should not be exaggerated, argues Li Jinguo 李进国 China Association for SOS Children's Village president. Live streaming connects the two ends of the country's educational hierarchy: one of its top-ranked high schools and an unknown rural middle school in one of its poorest counties. According to Li, the yield of live streaming on coursework tutoring and knowledge transfer is very limited. What really matters, he insists, is peer pressure: that is, watching how urban elites study and live motivates rural students to strive for better grades and a better life.
The success of distance-learning depends largely on the capacity of its audience, argues Tang Min 汤敏 state councillor. Tang notes that most rural schools are ill-equipped to provide the necessary amount of offline teacher-student interaction and face-to-face tutoring, which have negative effects on student learning outcomes. Rolling out such programs also requires subsidies and policy support from the government, adds Tang.
There is a stronger correlation between rising undergraduate enrollment rates in Quanlu and the policy of college admission quotas for rural candidates initiated in 2012, says Xiong Bingqi 熊丙奇 21st Century Education Research Institute. The poverty alleviation campaign has further boosted education spending in rural areas, he adds. More needs to be done to fundamentally solve the lack of equality in educational opportunities between rural and urban regions than just distance learning, Xiong argues, highlighting investing in training rural teachers and empowering grassroots schools.
context: As parents demand more private options for schooling, Party organisations are scrambling to remain the core of supervision and decision-making in newly-established educational institutions. While private educational institutions grow in number, so do efforts by local officials to establish Party branches in parallel.
Qinhuai District, Nanjing will establish another 12 Party branches in private tutoring institutions with the help of existing Party offices in public schools, reports Nanjing Daily. Qinhuai District Party Committee, having already approved 12 private institutions providing extracurricular tutoring services in H1 2018, has designated 11 Party secretaries from public kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools with previous experience in Party construction to oversee the establishment and operation of these new offices.
Sun Kai 孙凯 Nanjing TAL Education director disclosed to Nanjing Daily that 16 percent of total staff and over 50 percent of management in their particular institution are Party members.
context: Reform of China's highly competitive college admissions test known as the gaokao is a controversial topic. Supporters of the exam highlight its irreplaceable role in giving everyone an equal chance, while critics say myopic focus on exam preparation makes the Chinese education system overly rigid.
The gaokao reform pilots in Shanghai and Zhejiang have been successful, said Chen Baosheng 陈宝生 Minister of Education at a 16 March CPC press conference. The pilots include high school pedagogy reform, said Chen, highlighting the shift from assigning groups of students to an individual classrom to allowing flexible classes based on elective modules.
Chen acknowledges the reform introduces new challenges, such as determining how much autonomy should be given to students, and balancing students’ preference for easier modules. The pilots have generated improvements nonetheless, and MoE has been working to expand pilots into Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong and Hainan since 2017. Chen also announced plans to start gaokao reform in another 18 provinces in 2018.
In a recent Caixin editorial, prominent critic Lu Yi 陆一 Fudan University Higher Education Research Institution argued the reforms ‘run counter to the spirit of college entrance examinations’. He says the reforms break the principle of equality by allowing sophisticated parents and for-profit education advisory companies to game the system and choose students’ curriculums for them.
Zhejiang MoE released an urgent notice on 1 March forbidding schools from requiring students choose gaokao subjects earlier than the end of grade ten. Some schools encouraged students to pick subjects earlier, in order to allow more time for gaokao preparation. The notice says this practice runs counter to reform efforts.
context: For the past 14 years, the first major central policy document of the year has focused on rural and agricultural policy, laying out a specific policy agenda for the coming year. This year, however, the document outlines a vision for integrating previously disparate policy arenas. The 2018 No. 1 Document lays out a plan to dissolve institutional barriers between rural and urban policy, and integrate farming with its upstream and downstream industries. While the outline below is dry, the agenda it describes—rebuilding institutional structures within the state and the party, adjusting rural property rights and opening the countryside to industrial development and private capital—is set to fundamentally rewrite the rules of the game.
CCP Central Committee and State Council issued the 2018 No. 1 Document, titled 'Opinions on implementing rural revitalisation strategy'. The document lays out long-term strategic goals on rural revitalisation, and notes additional policy details will be included in a forthcoming 'National Rural Revitalisation Strategic Plan (2018–22)'.