The
first stage of the "211 Engineering" project is nearing
its end. In the course of five years of hard work, and on the basis
of discussions and examinations by the related departments, about
600 projects concerning key disciplines have been listed for completion
in 100 colleges and universities across the country. These disciplines
cover humanities and sociology, economics, politics and law, basic
sciences, resources and the environment, basic industry, new and
advanced technology, medical science and hygiene, and others. The
Ministry of Education demands that the second stage of this project
be completed within five years. During these five years, the input
into and support for these schools will be continuously enhanced.
China will do its best to make the academic level of these key disciplines
reach the state advanced level by 2005, so as to lay a foundation
for making a number of universities match or nearly match the world’s
first‑class universities around 2010.
As
China established a socialist market economy system and deepened
the reforms of various undertakings, the higher education system
reform has become the crux of various reforms in higher education.
The general objective for the reforms is to bring into better balance
the relations between the government, society and institutions of
higher learning, establish and strive to perfect a new system that,
while still macro-managed by the state within an overall plan, turns
institutions of higher learning outward to face society, and gives
schools autonomy in providing education. After many years of effort,
higher education has made considerable progress in the reform of
management and investment systems, as well as in the personnel and
distribution systems. In 1999,
the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts was incorporated by Qinghua
University, and in 2000 Beijing University and Beijing Medical Sciences
University were combined to form the new Beijing University. At
the beginning of 2000, the General Office of the State Council published
Suggestions for the Further Speeding Up of the Socialization of
Logistics of Universities and Colleges. This document put forward
the task of realizing the basic socialization of university and
college logistics in most parts of China within about three years,
starting from 2000. The focus of the reform is the logistics of
students' living conditions. The principle of mainly relying on
and fully utilizing the abilities of society as a whole for the
provision of new dormitories and other logistic service facilities
is stressed, while the central, provincial and city governments
should provide necessary financial support, in accordance with the
different conditions. All student dormitories and other logistic
service facilities shall be operated and managed using a new mechanism.
Also,
it has taken a big step forward in the reform of the recruitment
and employment systems of college graduates. In 1997, all the institutions
of higher learning in China carried out the “combination of two
categories” reform, that is, the students to be recruited were no
longer divided into two categories—state planning and the regulatory
planning—but all belonged to the same category and had to pay tuition
fees. Schools provide loans for students who cannot afford to pay
the tuition. In respect of the employment of recent college graduates,
with the improvement of the labor and personnel systems, the work
units and schools meet to coordinate supply and demand, and exercise
a “two-way choice,” wherein work units may select their own employees
and graduates may choose their employers. In addition, the state
is to gradually carry out a system wherein college graduates may
choose their employers under the guidance of state policies, with
the exception of those students who are pre-assigned to specific
posts or areas, who enjoy pre-assignment grants or special grants
and are to be employed according to the contracts.
Postgraduate
education is making unprecedented strides. Before 1949, China’s
high-grade specialists were mainly trained in foreign countries,
the scale of domestic postgraduate education was very small, as
a handful of higher-education schools enrolled a limited number
of graduates and granted about 200 master’s degrees altogether throughout
all the pre-Liberation period, and no doctorates were offered. After
1978, China’s educational and scientific undertakings developed
in an all-round way, and postgraduate education gradually entered
a new stage of vigorous development. In 1978, some 63,000 people
entered for graduate admission examinations, and 10,000 were recruited.
In 1998, a total of 8,957 students received doctorates, and 38,051
master’s degrees. The total number
of graduate students expected to be enrolled for post-graduate studies
in 2000 is about 120,000 -- an increase of 30 percent compared with
the figure for 1999. Among the total number, the part in the state
plan is an increase of 20 percent. This is the largest expansion
of enrollment of graduate students for more than a decade.
Today,
China has managed to establish a postgraduate education system fundamentally
comprehending all disciplines and an academic degree system wherein
the quality of the training can be guaranteed. This has promoted
the fostering and growth of high-grade specialized talents, and
given an impetus to scientific research and discipline development
in institutions of higher education and scientific research.
While
admitting foreign students, China also send students to study abroad
every year. In 1998, China received 43,084 students from 164 countries
and the students it sent to study abroad exceeded the 23,000-mark.
