Summary:

China has seen strong growth in its tertiary education sector over the past five years, and this trend is set to continue, according to a mid-term assessment of the “National Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Education Plan”) released by the Ministry of Education.

In 2014, a total of 35.59 million students were studying at 2,824 colleges and universities across the country, increasing the higher education gross enrolment rate to 37.5 per cent. This is significantly ahead of the intermediate 2015 target of 36 per cent set in the “Education Plan”. China tops all other countries it was benchmarked against in terms of the number of college students, and ranks second to the US in terms of the number of colleges and universities.

Highlights of the report, which was drafted by a specialist panel led by Xiamen University, include:
• From 2000 to 2014, the number of higher education institutions in central and western China increased by 150 per cent from 544 to 1,363 .
• China had the second highest number of universities in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015 (after the US), with 58 universities in the Top 400. China has also overtaken Japan to become the top country in the QS University Rankings Asia 2015, with 21 Higher Education institutions in the Top 100.
• From 2003 to 2013, funding for colleges and universities accounted for 27.9 per cent of national education funding, with an average annual increase of 35.9 per cent. Public expenditure on education finance funds accounted for 36.1 per cent of national expenditure.
• From 1999-2014, the number of academic staff was 2.3 million, and the number of full-time academics was 1.5 million, the highest number in the world. More than 50 per cent of full-time teaching staff hold a PhD or master's degree.

Speaking at a press conference, Zhang Daliang, Director of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education, called for the following measures to support the development of world-class universities and a first-class undergraduate education system:
• To strengthen university-industry links in priority areas, such as agriculture and forestry, geology and mining, petroleum, energy, transportation, environment, water conservation, architecture, medical and pharmaceutical science, and pedagogical education.
• To encourage qualified undergraduate institutions to convert to universities of applied technology. (see here for more information)
• To promote comprehensive subject reform, including to optimise the organisation of subject disciplines, to develop subject areas in line with national priorities for industrial development, and adjust subject areas according to demand in the job market.
• To continue expanding the capacity of teacher training, including developing teacher training development centres at all universities, establishing a teacher training system at the national, provincial and university level, hiring trainers with extensive practical experience as full- and part-time teachers, supporting teachers of innovation and entrepreneurship to be trained in related industries and enterprises.
• To develop professional certification systems according to international standards to ensure acceptance in the industry sector, especially in engineering and medical science.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst Analysis and Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Services Manager:

The mid-term assessment of the “National Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020)” shows that China’s education system is meeting or exceeding its targets, especially in terms of the scale of the country’s higher education system. The country is on track to significantly exceed its goal of 40 per cent gross enrolment in higher education by 2020. As a result, the main priorities over the next five years are likely to focus more on quality than on expansion in quantity, as can be seen in the measures set out by Zhang Daliang.

UK institutions interested in establishing transnational education programmes should pay particular attention to the priority subject areas for university-industry links, as the current policy environment surrounding these areas will be favourable.

Sources:
1. http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2015/12-04/7655876.shtml
2. http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2015/12-04/7656035.shtml
3. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_sjzl/moe_177/