Summary

The main points of the plan related to education or science and technology are:

• Standardisation of compulsory education
Accelerate the plan for education development in West and Central China. Improve public schools in both urban and rural areas that fall below the targets for teacher resources and/or facilities. Eliminate "oversized classes" (大班额). Set a target of 95% of students successfully graduating from 9-year compulsory education.

• Popularisation of upper secondary education
Allocate more resources to upper secondary schools (including secondary vocational schools) in poor areas. Encourage students in central and western regions and poor areas to enter secondary vocational schools if they do not qualify for academic senior high school. Provide free tuition (including administrative costs) for poor students at senior high schools. Set a target of 90% of students enrolling in upper secondary education by 2020.

• Popularisation of pre-school education
Strengthen efforts to promote pre-school education, especially in West and Central China. Pay attention to the demographic effects of the Two Child Policy. Set a target of 85% of children attending three years of pre-school education by 2020.

• Increase in education – industry integration
Support secondary vocational schools and higher vocational institutions’ cooperation with industry, including internship / work experience schemes as well as communication and exchange between staff in industry and in vocational institutions. Support bachelor’s degree universities in improving facilities for experiments and practical work. Establish high-level bachelor’s degree institutions in applied fields by converting existing bachelor’s degree institutions to Universities of Applied Science. Support the establishment of new subject areas based on the needs of industry.

• Development of world-class universities and subjects
Support universities in order to develop worldwide first-rate universities and worldwide first-rate subject areas. Continue to improve the level of innovation in higher education institutions.

• Development of continuing education
Support universities and vocational schools in providing continuing education to migrant workers and veterans. Create a national qualifications framework and a “personal learning account” platform to recognise credits for different kinds of continuing education.

• Improvements to teaching resources
Provide additional teaching resources to schools in poor areas and to bilingual schools for speakers of minority languages*. Expand the “special position plan” (which sends graduates to teach in rural schools for 3-year placements) to 100,000 teachers per year. Construct dormitories for teachers at rural schools. Continue to implement ongoing plans to improve training for primary and secondary school headteachers in West and Central China and for faculty at HEIs. Improve training for special education teachers.
* ‘Bilingual schools’ refers to schools which teach in the local minority language (e.g. Tibetan) as well as Mandarin Chinese. It does not include schools that teach in English

• Expansion of ICT in Education
Accelerate the “three communications and two platforms” plan (providing internet access and online teaching resources to schools). Improve ICT provision at rural schools. Procure a national teaching resources platform. Develop modern distance learning and online learning courses for vocational education and applied higher education.

• International education cooperation
Develop the “One Belt One Road” project. Continue with existing plans to increase the number of foreign students in China. Continue to develop Confucius Institutes abroad.

• Employability / entrepreneurship of HE graduates
Implement the plan to improve the employability and entrepreneurship of HE graduates. Build a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship. Strengthen policies that support HE graduates to establish their own businesses and the creation of entry-level jobs.

• Educational reform
Enhance students’ social responsibility, attitude towards the rule of law, innovation, practical ability, health and fitness, mental health, artistic education, interest in innovation, and scientific literacy. Reform the system of teachers’ titles and improve the treatment of teachers. Continue the reform of examination systems. Increase the autonomy of universities as well as strengthening academic and social influence in university management. Encourage private investment in a variety of educational services

• Scientific research projects
Fund new and ongoing major national research projects in a range of fields:
• Technologies such as ICT, new energy, new materials, aerospace, biomedical fields, smart manufacturing
• Strategic technologies relating to underwater, underground, deep space and blue-water technologies, among others
• Technological solutions related to modern agriculture, urbanisation, environmental management, health and ageing, public services and other areas
• Cutting-edge basic research in fields including cosmology, the structure of matter, the origin of life, neurology and cognitive science
Actively participate in and lead international research projects and establish platforms for international cooperation

• Optimisation of systems for scientific research and innovation
Strengthen the leading position of companies in innovation and encourage enterprises to get involved in cutting-edge research. Support research projects at companies and develop a number of internationally competitive innovative companies. Support R&D at SMEs. Support multidisciplinary research at universities, research institutes and higher vocational institutions, especially at high-level institutions. Encourage collaboration between academia and industry.

• Encouragement of public fitness
Develop sports and fitness activities and provide more public sports facilities, especially free and low-cost facilities. Promote youth sports activities, particularly football, basketball, volleyball and winter sports. Encourage social forces to develop the sports industry.

• Others
International education cooperation is also mentioned in a list of fields in which international cooperation should be encouraged, especially with New Silk Road countries. The system for foreign students studying in China should be optimised. A section on improving services for the disabled calls for the construction of a university focusing on this subject area. Provincial level cities and below (i.e. everywhere except Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing) should “fully liberalise” their restrictions on residence permits (hukou) for several groups, including university graduates.

Aside from the education-related sections of the plan discussed above, the following industries were listed in the plan as priorities for support or promotion, in four broad fields:

• Emerging industries
Next-generation information and communications technologies; new energy vehicles; biotechnology; green and low-carbon industry; high-end equipment and materials; the creative and digital sector; advanced semiconductors; robotics; additive manufacturing; intelligent systems; next generation aviation equipment; space technology; smart transportation; smart medicine; energy efficiency; distributed energy systems; smart materials; environmental protection; virtual reality interactive media

• Strategic industries
Aerospace and oceanography; information networks; life sciences; nuclear technology; development of new aircraft and spacecraft; next-generation air and space observation systems; quantum communications; internet of things; synthetic biology and regenerative medicine technology; next-generation nuclear reactors; small-scale nuclear reactors and equipment; nuclear analysis and imaging systems

• Professional services
Industrial design and creative development; engineering consulting; business consulting; law; accounting; insurance; credit rating; after-sales service; inspection and testing; HR services; logistics; high-tech services; specialist outsourcing services

• Services to improve peoples' quality of life
Education and training (including vocational training and skills assessment); health; pensions; culture and entertainment; sports and fitness; tourism (including eco-tourism, cultural tourism, leisure tourism, and tourism in mountainous regions)

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

One key educational priority in the new five-year plan is the focus on cooperation between academia and industry. This is relevant both for vocational education and in the research field, and suggests that potential for commercialisation may become more important in Chinese universities' research priorities.

The new list of priority industries will also be taken into account by universities deciding on their new teaching and research plans. UK institutions wishing to cooperate with Chinese partners may find it easier to build partnerships in these areas.

International cooperation in higher education is given relatively little attention in the new plan, and much of that attention is related to the "One Belt One Road" project. Universities involved in this project may therefore place a higher prioritisation on cooperation, although leading universities in the World Class Universities project are also being encouraged to internationalise.

In the schools sector, there is a continuing focus on equality and expanding opportunities in rural, central and western areas. Meanwhile, reform in the vocational sector may also bring training opportunities, given the change in focus towards more professional skills.

Sources:
Xinhua - the full version of the 13th Five- Year Plan (Chinese only): http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-03/17/content_5054992.htm