Education underpins the development and future of a nation. The Recommendations of the Central Committee of the CPC on Formulating 14th Five-Year Program for National Economic and Social Development and the 2035 Long-term Goals (“Recommendations”), adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, sets out a series of policy guidelines and key requirements for “building a quality education system”.
Macro environment for educational reforms in 2021-25
Educational reforms have yielded fruitful outcomes during the 13th Five-Year Program period, thanks to the importance accorded to education by the CPC Central Committee and concrete measures taken to promote education across the board. As the Program draws to a conclusion, China is on track to realize all its educational targets set five years ago. China is on a par with the world’s upper-middle-income countries in terms of the level, depth and breadth of education offered to citizens. In 2019, the national gross enrolment rate of children in preschool and primary education was 83.4 per cent and 99.94 per cent respectively. The gross enrolment rate in junior middle school, senior middle school and higher education was 102.6 per cent, 89.5 per cent and 51.6 per cent respectively. Higher education became universal; special education was further strengthened, and continuing education saw further diversification. The average number of years of education for the new generation of workforce exceeded 13.7 years. These results have provided a strong backstop for China’s rising comprehensive strength and competitiveness, the nation’s overall level of education, and poverty alleviation efforts.
As China transitions to a new developmental phase, it is important to have a clear understanding of the opportunities, challenges and requirements for creating a quality education system suited to the needs of a new era against the backdrop of the evolving macro environment. It is noted in the Recommendations that immediate and short-term opportunities abound, albeit accompanied with emerging challenges ahead; that the world is undergoing disruptive changes unseen in the last century; and that China has entered a stage of quality development. In a complex and changing macro environment, China’s education system is poised to see step changes for the better, as it has clear institutional advantages and a relatively sound human resource base. A new generation of information technology solutions, as well as resources from multiple stakeholders, is expected to support a new learner-centred education system, thus providing a favourable condition for building a quality education system. At the same time, imbalances in the allocation of educational resources across the country have yet to be addressed, and the gap in the quality of education between urban and rural areas has yet to be closed. Reforms to existing talent cultivation models need to be accelerated, and the potential for educational innovation and services need to be further tapped.
Significance of building a quality education system
Building a quality education system is a concrete first step toward “putting people’s needs first”, a fundamental tenet of the Party and one of the key principles for guiding efforts to be rolled out under the 14th Five-Year Program. The Recommendations call for a people-centred approach in further developing an education system that provides a strong basis for the improvement of the people’s moral, physical and mental wellbeing, and scientific and cultural literacy. Only a people-centred approach ensures that reforms are implemented by the people, that the fruits are shared among the people, and that the people’s growing needs for a better life are fully met.
A sound education system is essential for generating new development momentum, especially as China aims to rely on “internal circulation” – or the domestic cycle of production, distribution and consumption – supported by “external circulation.” The education system has a fundamental, leading and systemic role to play in terms of providing a steady stream of quality human resources and strong R&D support in a number of areas that promote consumption and benefit people’s livelihoods. The education system needs to explore new approaches and practices in order to better participate in the development of urban and rural areas, provision of new services, and generation of new demand.
A well-developed education system is vital for realizing the China’s Educational Modernization Goal 2035. According to the Goal, by 2035, China will have become an educational, learning and human resources powerhouse with its education system fully modernized across the board, laying a solid foundation for building a modern, rich, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful socialist nation by 2050. The education system should align all efforts with the Goal and take sure-footed steps in three 5-year programming periods to realize the strategic objectives thereof.
Way forward
The Recommendations identify four areas of work vital for achieving the 2035 Goal. First, the Party’s overall leadership in education must be upheld, in order to mobilize all resources and efforts.
Second, a talent pipeline involving educational institutions, families, government and society must be built. All actors, including the education system and society, should strive to build greater synergy in the development of a well-rounded and qualified future workforce, based on existing conditions and leveraging all available resources.
Third, efforts to deepen educational reforms must be geared toward equity and equality. The Recommendations require focusing on promoting the balanced development of compulsory education in rural and urban areas, improve the quality of education in ethnic minority areas, putting in place safeguards for inclusive pre-school education, special education and specialized education, and encouraging diversified development of secondary education. The Recommendations call for increased investment of human capital, and making vocational and polytechnic education more connected with industry needs. Building school-industry alliances is a feasible way to explore an apprenticeship system with Chinese characteristics and to train talent that are marketable in an increasingly demanding labor market and that are adaptable to China’s constantly upgraded value chains. On the front of tertiary education, the Recommendations underscore the importance of building first-class universities and disciplines, and accelerating the cultivation of innovative and skilled talent for mission-critical industries, including hi-tech and medicine. Accordingly, resources are pledged to support the development of top-notch research universities and strengthen the cultivation of talent engaged in basic research. Private institutions are encouraged to contribute to changes in the way education is offered and governed.
Fourth, a quality education system must be made part of a lifelong learning system for all. For the past few years, China has led the world in terms of the number of people enrolling in and graduating from online degree programs. A diversified system of online education and training has been formed. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China built the largest online teaching and learning community in human history. From February to May, the National Primary and Secondary School Cloud Platform registered 2 billion visits, and 17.75 million university students nationwide participated in online courses. Cloud-based classrooms effectively cushioned the impact of the pandemic and protected the health and safety of teachers and students. The Recommendations require exploring new models that ensure learning is available everywhere and accessible at all times for all, in the same can-do spirit that led to the world’s largest online education experiment during the height of the pandemic.
