Summary:

Earlier in December 2017, China’s Ministry of Education published a report titled “2016 National Assessment of Higher Vocational Institutions’ Ability to Meet Social Needs”. The report sets out the current situation and recent accomplishments of the country’s higher vocational education system, which includes 1,314 institutions teaching 10.5 million students – around 40 per cent of all undergraduate students nationwide. These institutions teach three-year vocational diploma programmes, in contrast to bachelor’s degree programmes which are usually four years in duration. Collectively, these institutions offer a total of around 34,000 programmes in over 1,000 different subjects, with over 60 per cent of programmes related to sectors classed as local pillar industries.

Over the last few years, attention has been paid to developing high-quality teaching resources. The report finds that 52 per cent of full-time teaching staff are “double qualified”, referring to staff who are both qualified instructors and also have professional qualifications or experience in the relevant industry fields. Meanwhile, 25 per cent of teaching hours are delivered by part-time teachers who are employed by both higher vocational institutions and in the field they are teaching. In addition, employability has been a major focus, with an average of 45 practical training bases per institution and nearly 1,000 joint training agreements with enterprises.

Problems identified in the report include poor student-teacher ratios, with over 18 students per teacher in over 800 schools; a lack of funding in some regions; a continuing lack of high-quality teaching staff in some cases, with some institutions lacking specialised teaching staff for certain disciplines, lacking or not implementing curriculum standards, or not strictly managing internship practices; and weak R&D, with some schools having no scientific research or no technical services agreements. As a result, the report sets out plans to increase numbers of teaching staff and equipment; to ensure that local governments allocate at least 12,000 RMB per student to higher vocational institutions; to increase support for privately run higher vocational institutions; to further improve teacher training and improve teaching standards; and to enhance the capacity for R&D and other services.

Analysis by Kevin Prest

As with the country’s universities, the Chinese government is increasing its investment in higher vocational education with the aim of improving the quality of education its young people receive. The Ministry of Education has previously stated that it aims to improve the profile of these institutions and attract more students to vocational education rather than bachelor’s degrees, but at present these institutions are still generally seen as a less prestigious option and tend to attract weaker students. 

Internationalisation is not listed as a priority in the recent report, but it may be possible for UK HE and FE institutions to work with Chinese higher vocational colleges in areas such as teacher training and curriculum development. A number of UK universities and FE colleges are already involved in teacher training projects at these institutions.

Source:

1. 2016 National Assessment of Higher Vocational Institutions’ Ability to Meet Social Needs (Ministry of Education, in Chinese): http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/201712/t20171207_320819.html