Summary 

Chinese education authorities have recently announced several new policies in the fields of academic staff development, academic degree subjects, Ministry of Education priorities and evaluation & accreditation.

1. The Chinese Ministry of Education recently issued plans for academic staff development in the higher education sector, aiming to enhance teachers’ professional skills and competence. Elements of these plans include creating a platform for teachers’ development as well as stating that university teaching staff will be encouraged and supported to visit and study at domestic and foreign institutions, and to participate in international exchanges and co-operation. According to the guidance, Chinese higher education institutions will also aim to attract overseas graduates and “outstanding young foreign talents”.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, IES, British Council:

The statement that the MoE will encourage and support university teaching staff to visit and study at domestic and foreign institutions and participate in international exchanges is not a new policy. However, reiterating the policy shows that the Ministry continues to support this policy and is a positive sign for resuming exchanges when the COVID-19 pandemic is defeated.

• 教育部等六部门关于加强新时代高校教师队伍建设改革的指导意见 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 (moe.gov.cn)

2. The Chinese Academic Degree Committee and the Ministry of Education have recently announced changes to the standard classification system of higher education programmes. A new top-level category has been created for interdisciplinary programmes, with two new subject areas within this category: “Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering” and "National Security". A list of subject areas for vocational bachelor’s degrees has also been announced as below sources. 

Analysis by Kevin Prest, IES, British Council:

The creation of a new top-level subject category for interdisciplinary programmes will have little immediate effect from the perspective of UK institutions, but shows the importance placed on these programmes in both research and teaching at the higher education level.

• 国务院学位委员会 教育部关于设置“交叉学科”门类、“集成电路科学与工程”和“国家安全学”一级学科的通知 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 (moe.gov.cn)
• 速览！国务院学位办公布各专业学位类别的领域设置情况 (qq.com)

3. At the National Conference on Education Work in early January, the Chinese Minister of Education, Chen Baosheng, discussed plans to develop a quality education system in 2021. Among other issues, Chen stated that the Chinese government would promote the opening-up (internationalization) of education but would establish policies that discourage study abroad at a young age. The same conference also covered laws and regulations the government plans to introduce in 2021. These include amendments to the Education Law and pushing forward the legislative process of the Preschool Education Law, as well as working on draft revisions of the Teachers’ Law. The draft of the National Family Education Law, which clarifies the responsibilities and obligations of parents and guardians, was also presented to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on 20 January for review.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, IES, British Council:

The Minister’s comments on discouraging study abroad at an early age is unlikely to have a major effect. Although specific policy details have not yet been announced, the British Council’s discussions with education agents who send school-age students abroad has confirmed that parents generally pay more attention to policies in their destination countries rather than in China. Students who go abroad at the school level tend to stay in overseas countries for higher education so domestic education policy has little impact on their decisions.

• 陈宝生在2021年全国教育工作会议上的讲话 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 (moe.gov.cn)
• 谁来教父母成为合格父母？家庭教育法草案来了 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 (moe.gov.cn)
• 教育部2021年工作要点 - 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 (moe.gov.cn)

4. A news conference in late February, delivered by Wu Yan, Director of the Department of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, discussed goals to further reform education development and teaching within universities and colleges. The MoE will take forward the World Class Universities & Disciplines initiative by starting accreditation for a second batch of programmes; guide higher education institutions to develop a new quality system for hybrid courses with online and offline options; encourage HE institutions to establish evaluation mechanisms that better accommodate online teaching and hybrid education formats; and establish better professional accreditation systems along with releasing standards for first-class subjects.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, IES, British Council:

Promotion of education quality in HE programmes is another long-standing policy of the Chinese government, and the last year has shown the importance of high-quality distance education as well as face-to-face programmes. The World Class Universities and Disciplines initiative is a useful source of information on programmes that are highly regarded within China for UK HEIs that are considering partnership with a Chinese partner.

• 吴岩：高等教育今年将出台三个重要文件 —中国教育在线 (eol.cn)