Ministry of Higher Education of PRC
The Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges
The duties and functions of Department of International Cooperation and Exchange are as follows:
- To formulate guidelines and policies for the foreign affairs of China’s educational sector, and
- to draft relevant laws and regulations; to manage, coordinate and supervise educational cooperation and exchanges between China and other countries;
- to manage the cooperation and exchanges between China’s educational sector and international organizations as well as inter-regional governmental organizations;
- to formulate guidelines and policies for Chinese students studying abroad and international students studying in China, and
- to undertake overall management of this issue;
- to plan, coordinate and instruct the work of teaching Chinese as a foreign language;
- to manage educational aiding programs provided to other countries by China as well as educational aiding programs offered by other countries to China;
- to participate in the administration of employing foreign teachers by schools of different levels, and
- to supervise the selection and employment of foreign teachers by the affiliated universities;
- to examine, approve and administrate institutions and programs engaged in educational cooperation and exchanges;
- to give instruction on the operation of education departments in Chinese embassy and consulate abroad;
- to manage the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan affairs on behalf of the Ministry of Education,
- to formulate concerning policies, manage, coordinate and supervise the educational exchanges between education systems of inland China and that of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan District.
Since the implementation of reform and opening up, the reform and development of higher education have made significant achievements. A higher education system with various forms, which encompasses basically all branches of learning, combines both degree-education and non-degree education and integrates college education, undergraduate education and graduate education, has taken shape.
Higher education in China has played an important role in the economic construction, science progress and social development by bringing up large scale of advanced talents and experts for the construction of socialist modernization.
In 2002, there were all together 2003 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), among which 1396 were Regular HEIs and the other 607 were higher education institutions for adults. In 2002, the total number of new entrant admitted by and the total enrollment of the regular HEIs were respectively 3,205,000 and 9,033,600. The total number of new entrant admitted by and the total enrollment of new recruitment and total enrollment of adult higher education institutions were 1,175,000 and 2,223,200.
The total number of graduate students newly admitted by HEIs and research institutions was 202,600 among which 38,400 were for PH.D and 164,200 for master’s degree. The total enrollment for graduate students was 501,000 in 2002.
The System of Vocational Education and Its Development
The system of vocational education consists of education in vocational schools and vocational training.
Vocational education in China is provided at three levels: junior secondary, senior secondary and tertiary.
Conducted mainly in junior vocational schools and aimed at training workers, peasants and employees in other sectors with basic professional knowledge and certain professional skills, junior vocational education refers to the vocational and technical education after primary school education and is a part of the 9-year compulsory education. The students in secondary vocational school should be primary school graduates or the youth with equivalent cultural knowledge and its schooling lasts 3 to 4 years. To meet the needs of labor forces for the development of rural economy, junior vocational schools are mainly located in rural areas where the economy is less developed.
The secondary level mainly refers to the vocational education in senior high school stage. Composed of specialized secondary schools, skill workers schools and vocational high schools, and as the mainstay of vocational education in China, secondary vocational education plays a guiding role in training manpower with practical skills at primary and secondary levels of various types.
Consisting of secondary technical schools and normal schoo1s, specialized secondary schools enroll junior high school graduates with a schooling of usually 4 years and sometimes 3 years, A few specialities are open only to senior high school graduates with the schooling lasting 2 years.
The basic tasks of these schools are to train secondary-level specialized and technical talents for the forefront of production, and all the students should master the basic knowledge, theory and skills of their speciality in addition to the cultural knowledge required for higher school students.
Aiming at training secondary-level skill workers, skill worker schools enroll junior high school graduates and their schooling lasts 3 years. Quite capable of practicing and operating, their graduates will directly be engaged in production activities.
Developing on the basis of the structural reform of secondary education after China adopted the policy of reform and opening to the outside world and directly coming from the reorganization of regular high schools, vocational high school enrolls junior high school graduates and its schooling lasts 3 years. Its main task is to train secondary-1evel practice-oriented talents with comprehensive professional abilities and all-round qualities directly engaged in the forefront of production, service, technology and management. Accordingly, the specialities offered in vocational high schools are mainly related to the third industry.
In 2001, there were altogether 17,770 secondary vocational schools (including vocational high schools, specialized secondary schools and skill workers school), with the enrollment of 11,642,300 students and the recruitment of 3,976,300 students.
With the schooling lasting 2 to 3 years, tertiary vocational education mainly enroll graduates from regular high schools and secondary vocational schools. In recent years, the proportion of graduates form secondary vocational schools has been increased, establishing the link between secondary and tertiary vocational education gradually. Aiming at training secondary and high – level specialized technical and management talents needed in the economic construction, tertiary vocational education emphasiz6s the training of practice-oriented and craft-oriented talents.
At present, institutions providing tertiary vocational education are divided into four categories. The first is the higher vocational technology institutions; the second is the 5-year higher vocational classes provided in the regular specialized secondary schools; the third is the tertiary vocational education provided in some regular higher education institutions and adult higher education institutions; the last is the reformed regular institutions offering 2 to 3-year higher education with the emphasis on training practice-oriented talents, namely high-level professional technical talents, for the forefront of production.
Vocational training of various forms has been playing a more and more important role in vocational education. At present, vocational training is mainly conducted and managed by the departments of education and labor, but enterprises are encouraged to provide vocational training for its own employees. In 2001, short-term training are proved for 100 million person-time.
