Are We Ready for the New Round of TVET development？

—— based on China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)

Prof. Dr. Shi WeipingDr. Kuang Ying

Institute of Vocational and Technical Education

East China Normal UniversityShanghai, China

4. Comments and Discussion

3. Contents of TVET in the Plan

2. Brief Introduction of the Plan

1. Background of the Plan

China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) was published on July 8th, 2010.

The plan is the first key document in 21st century which advances that China attains in the main her education modernization by the year of 2020.

This is an inevitable demand of China’s socio-economic development, the promotion of the international status, and the solution to the problems arising in education progress.

1. Background of the Plan

1.1 International situations and education development

We are experiencing a new era which is characterized by 3 features:

Knowledge-based economy which has been a dominant economy in the world should be supported by millions of knowledgeable workers;

Internationalization which leads more cooperation and communication in all kinds of fields including education;

Informationization and network popularity has changed thoroughly in civil living style and social operation system。

To sum up

The quality of human resources is reflected as a more and more important factor by that 3 features of our world.

Human resources especially creative talents are inevitably becoming the priority of international competency.

Therefore, whether a country’s education can produce these human resources will determine the future of the country’s development.

1.2 Domestic situations and education development

1.2.1 Demand of completing a lifelong education system and building a learning society

In China, we are in the progress of building a learning society. Learning needs to be organized on a different set of principles requiring a new learning system.

People not only learn during their student’s time but learn through their lives as well. It is necessary and urgent to completing a lifelong education system to provide all sorts of education service for all kinds of people with different ages, different situations and to meet different needs.

At that time, everyone will enter the learning system at anytime with any identification and get the appropriate education.

1.2.2 Demand of sustainable economic growth

GDP in China has increased from 300 billion in 1980 to over 3,000,000 billion in 2009, nearly 86 times increase.

However, the economic growth in China cost a lot including resources consumption, environment damage, and cheap labor force. These cannot support a sustainable economic growth in the future year.

So we have to change our way of economic development --from relying on cheap labor force to skilled and qualified labor force,

--from relying on high consumption of resources to high-tech advances,

--from relying on investment and export to improving management.

1.2.3 Demand of turning China into a country rich in human resources

strategic arrangement of the 17 Communist Party of China National Congress to “give priority to education and turn China into a country rich in human resources”

we have to enhance citizens’ overall quality, boost educational development in a scientific way, and speed up socialist modernization.

The future development and great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are predicated on talents or professionals, and on education.

All those have highlighted the pressing need to enhance citizens’ quality and cultivate innovative personnel.

1.2.4 Meeting the needs of people’s desire for education

After 30 years’ rapid development, China has popularized its compulsory education;

the enrollment rate of senior secondary education has reached 80%; the enrollment rate of higher education has been increased from 7% in 1995 to 24.2% in 2009; the average educating time has increased from 5.3 years to 9.5 years.

However, it is not enough though. Chinese people have more requirements for education including getting more opportunities to enjoy higher and more qualified education, richer and higher qualified education provision.

2. Brief Introduction of the Plan

2.1Procedure of Establishing the Plan

The establishment of the Plan was first discussed during 2007-2008. The whole procedure of establishing the Plan can be divided into 4 stages.

The first stage: comprehensive, from Aug. 2008 to Feb. 2009. The survey was divided for 11 key strategy topics and 36 sub-topics.

The second stage: drafting, from Mar. 2009 to Feb. 2010. The drafting group was composed of over 200 talents covering scholars, leaders, administrators, headmasters, presidents and teacher.

The third stage: asking the public for comments, from Feb. 28th 2010 to Mar. 28th 2010

The last stage: revising, reviewing and approving, from Apr. 15th 2010 to Jun.

2.2 Workload of Establishing Work

The establishment of the Plan is a huge project.

11 key strategy topic groups, including over 500 scholars and nearly 2000 people from different institutions

14 related departments joined the whole procedure and cooperated with each other

Over 40 times of revision of the document Over 1,800 meetings for discussion Over 350,000 people joined the establishment Over 4,600,000 comments for the Plan Over 5 million words of survey reports

2.3 Framework of the Plan

The Plan is composed of 4 sections, 22 chapters, 70 terms and 27,000 words.

SECTION I: GENERAL STRATEGY CHAPTER 1: GUIDELINES AND EXECUTIVE PRINCIPLES CHAPTER 2: STRATEGIC GOALS AND THEMES.

SECTION II: DEVELOPMENT MISSIONSCHAPTER 3: PRESCHOOL EDUCATION CHAPTER 4: COMPULSORY EDUCATION CHAPTER 5: SENIOR MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATION CHAPTER 6: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION CHAPTER 7: HIGHER EDUCATION CHAPTER 8: FURTHER OR CONTINUING EDUCATIONCHAPTER 9: EDUCATION FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES CHAPTER 10: SPECIAL EDUCATION

SECTION III: EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORMS CHAPTER 11: REFORM OF CULTIVATION SYSTEM FOR TALENTS OR

PROFESSIONALS. CHAPTER 12: REFORM OF EXAMINATIONS AND ENROLLMENT SYSTEMS CHAPTER 13: BUILDING A MODERN SCHOOL SYSTEM CHAPTER 14: REFORM ON SCHOOL‐RUNNING SYSTEM CHAPTER 15: REFORM OF EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM CHAPTER 16: FURTHER OPENING CHINA’S EDUCATION SECTION IV: GUARANTEEING MEASURES CHAPTER 17: STRENGTHENING BUILDING OF THE TEACHERS’

CONTINGENT CHAPTER 18: ENSURING EDUCATION INPUT CHAPTER 19: ACCELERATING INFORMATIZATION IN EDUCATION CHAPTER 20: PROMOTING RULE OF LAW IN EDUCATION CHAPTER 21: MAJOR PROJECTS AND PILOT REFORM PROGRAMS CHAPTER 22: INTENSIFYING ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP

2.4 Strategic goals

The strategic goals to be attained by the year 2020 are to basically modernize education, bring a learning society into shape, and turn China into a country rich in human resources.

1.Further Popularize education. preschool education-universalized compulsory education-consolidated and enhanced senior middle school education-90% gross enrolment

rate higher education-40% gross enrolment rate Twenty percent of the working-age population shall

have finished higher education by 2020, doubling that of 2009

2. Delivering equal education to everyone.

13.5 year of schooling for new labor force, and more than half of the working adults participating in continuing education each year.

3. Offering quality education in various ways.

4. Building a consummate framework for lifelong education.

To build a lifelong learning system, with the integration of formal education with inform education, vocational education with general education, and initial education with in-service training.

5. Establishing a full-fledged, vibrant education system.

3. Contents of TVET in the Plan

3.1 TVET terms

Chapter 6: Vocational Education

(14) Intensifying efforts in developing vocational education.

(15) Mobilizing the enthusiasm of industries and enterprises in vocational education.

(16) Speeding up vocational education development to meet the needs of rural areas.

(17) Making vocational education more appealing.

3.2 TVET related terms

(11) Accelerating popularization of senior middle school education.

(13) Promoting diversification of senior middle schools.

(53) Raising teachers’ professional efficiency.

(57) Improving distribution mechanism

(66) Major projects to be organized and undertaken

Enhancing vocational education’s basic capacities

Developing education for ethnic minorities.

Providing financial aid for students from low-income families.

Developing national educational informatization.

International education exchanges and cooperation.

(67) Pilot reform to be undertaken. Pilot reform of operation modes of vocational

education schools.

3.3 Main development tasks and requirements

3.3.1 Speed up the universalizing of upper secondary education

At the upper-secondary education level, half of the student population should be in vocational schools and this proportion should be maintained in future.

3.3.2 Promote the development of diversified upper secondary education

To encourage general upper-secondary schools and comprehensive high schools to provide more vocational courses for their students and graduates who failed in their entrance examination to colleges for Vocational Education Particular

3.3.3 Greatly develop vocational education

To develop vocational education is ---- an important way to promote economic

development, to improve employment rate, to have a better life;

----a critical measure to relieve the tension between supply and demand in labor market;

So vocational education is priority among the priorities for national development.

4. Comments and Discussion

The Plan aroused a new round reform of TVET in China.

There will be more changes in the field of vocational education focusing on the following aspects.

Comments

4.1 The Plan put forward more requirements for government and VET schools/colleges

Requirement for the Government To include the vocational education into the planning of

economic-social development and industrial development, enabling the size of vocational education, its major setting matched with the needs of economic-social development.

To increase the investment in vocational education, to create a multi-channel investment mechanism for vocational education.

To create the standard for vocational schooling To improve the training facilities and teacher’s quality in

vocational schools To improve the qualification standard for vocational schools To establish quality insurance system for vocational education To get the industry involved for quality evaluation.

Requirement for Vocational Schools/Colleges

The main task is to serve the industry, to provide employment-oriented education and training by the way of reform, so as to improve the quality of vocational education.

School learning should be integrated with workplace learning, to establish internship, to be arranged by the partnership between schools and enterprise.

Initial vocational education should be integrated with in-service training, full-time along with the part-time.

School teachers integrated with master workers in the formation of vocational teaching forces.

4.2 The Plan gives more emphasis on school and business partnership

To create mechanism for vocational schooling, with support from government, guidance from the industry, and involvement from the enterprises.

To establish a law and a national system to promote school-business cooperation in the delivery of vocational education and training.

School and Business Partnership To encourage the industry and enterprises to run vocational

schools To encourage vocational schools to be involved in staff

training in enterprises To establish favorable policy to encourage enterprises to

accept students and teachers for their job skill training and working experience.

4.3 The Plan facilitates developing VET in rural areas

To enhance agriculture education To enhance the training of new farmers To enhance the training of new migrant workers

from rural areas By the way of cooperation with vocational schools in

the city, integration with basic education, adult education in the rural villages, formation of network of vocational training from villages to town and up to county capital.

4.4 The Plan tries to make TVET More Attractive

The Plan enhances the supporting policy for vocational education so as to make vocational education more attractive.

To introduce the system of free secondary vocational education step by step

To implement the policy of financial assistantship for vocational school students from poor families

To promote “double-qualification system” to integrating vocational school curriculum standard with the standard of vocational qualification

To improve “no job without training” system, to implement earnestly the policy of “training before employment” and “training before working”

To improve the continuing education system for vocational school graduates and widen the career pathway for them

To raise the social and economic status for skilled and high-skilled workers.

4.5 The Plan improves the quality for vocational teaching forces

To train more “double-qualified teachers” (both in professional knowledge and job skills)

To improve the regulation of working experience practice for vocational school teachers

To reform the school staffing system, so as to introduce more master-workers with rich working experience to vocational schools/colleges as part-time teachers

4.6 The Plan innovates the investment mechanism

For the upper secondary education, senior high schools to be invest by public funding

Investment in upper secondary education should be increased with the stronger government financial power.

While vocational schools to be funded by a multi-channel investment mechanism, which is formed in partnership with government, business sectors, big companies and other social partners.

4.7 TVET in the Plan is mainly based on the needs of market instead of based on the development of students

The function of TVET is emphasized as a method to meet the needs of market, industries and economy.

Actually, TVET has its original function as a way to education qualified people and meet the needs of diverse TVET students.

The Plan covers less about the career development of TVET student; cares less about giving rich provision to meet individual needs and his/her career development. But it does act as a base to setting up a learning society.

4.8 The Plan focuses more on vocational education, but less on technical education

When it talks about TVET, the Plan focuses more on vocational education which mainly improving skills. It is of importance in China.

But it is not enough. In China, we are going to build a creative country which needs more creative talents and personnel. Those human resources are not cultivated only by vocational education. The more important and relevant education in technical education.

The Plan should have taken more attention to how to develop technical education in China in the coming 10 years.

Discussion

The duration of the Plan is 10 years. In the Plan, we are ready to conduct a series of projects and issues about TVET in China.

It is really a huge blueprint which will benefit a large amount to China’s TVET, but we still bear some worries about the difficulties among the 10-year time period.

Are we ready for school-industry cooperation?--immature industries and enterprises--from employee-used to employee-developed--severe obstacle for cooperation

Are we ready for connecting TVET with salary series?

--Building a uniformed NQF which can change the status of TVET thoroughly

--Can Dept. of Edu & Dept. of HR and Social Security hand-in-hand to solve the problem?

 

Are we ready for reforming TVET as a system?

--upgrading TVET level and setting up diplomas and degrees for majors not only for academics

  Are we ready for achieving the goals within 10 years?  

--too many tasks, they are related to each other.

--shall we pick up the most important ones which affect TVET nowadays most?