Major Changes Predicted in China's Education

Historic changes are expected to appear in China's education system early next century, according to the latest issue of the country's most authoritative news weekly "Outlook".

The May 15th issue of the magazine, to hit newsstands next Monday, noted that China's educational reform and development have already entered a new stage.

Since the 1980s, China has held three national conferences on education. The first two focused on the restructuring of the educational system and the blueprint of its development. The third one, which was held last June, was devoted largely to deepening reforms and promoting quality education.

"A third round of historic changes in China's education is brewing, following the establishment of "new schools" in the early 1900s and the establishment of a new educational system when New China was founded in 1949,", says the magazine.

The China Education Blueprint, the first of its kind in China, will provide some notable analysis and predictions on the country' s educational development and reforms in the next decade, the article says.

According to the blueprint which will be made public soon, over 95 percent of the Chinese population will enjoy the nine-year compulsory education by 2010 and about 95 percent of illiterate young people will be able to read and write.

Education at the level of senior middle school will be greatly developed, which will be enjoyed by the majority of young people in cities and economically developed regions.

In the meantime, the number of students at middle-level vocational education and that at senior middle schools will be readjusted to the ratio of 6:4 by 2010.

The country's existing educational system will be restructured so that it will conform to a socialist market economy and the educational rules and regulations. A life-long educational system will also be set up for most school graduates.

The blueprint notes that China will try its best to actively promote the development of higher education. By 2010, the enrollment rate of young people at Chinese colleges and universities will reach about 15 percent.

A number of first-rate universities will also be established across the country. By 2010, the average education period of Chinese will be extended to 10 and 11 years from eight years in 1998 and be on par with universities in developing countries.



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