Red Star News: 

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to the development of vocational education and made unprecedented efforts to promote it. Could you share the future plans for developing vocational education? Thank you.

Chen Ziji:

Just as you said, since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to the development of vocational education and promoted it vigorously by continually ramping up policy support for building a modern system at a faster speed. As a result, vocational education has achieved leapfrog development. It used to follow the example of general education but now has become a relatively independent type of education and entered a stage of pursuing excellence and higher value. The changes can be seen in the following four aspects. 

First, the operational mechanisms of vocational schools have been improved. A pattern featuring government leadership, industry guidance, and participation of enterprises is being formed. So far, state-owned enterprises have set up 435 vocational schools, and private enterprises have set up some 2,200. Over 50 industry regulators, industry organizations, and central enterprises have jointly set up 56 teaching instruction committees to guide vocational education in different industries. Over 1,500 vocational education groups have been established, involving over 30,000 enterprises. Vocational schools and enterprises have jointly set up 24,900 internship and training bases. Some 3,000 enterprises that integrate vocational education with industries have been fostered, and 21 cities are integrating industry with vocational education on a pilot basis.  

Second, the layout of vocational education has been improved. So far, China has established 9,789 secondary vocational schools (including 2,492 skilled workers schools) and 1,518 vocational colleges. Now, almost every county has at least one secondary vocational school, and every city has at least one vocational college. The role of vocational education in supporting regional socio-economic development has become more significant. When designing majors for secondary vocational schools, junior vocational colleges, and undergraduate vocational programs, we took an integrated approach, and have opened 1,349 majors at 120,000 sites, basically covering all sectors of the national economy.

Third, training models have been innovated. Now schools and enterprises make training plans together, and practical training accounts for over 50% of a student's training. This way, teaching and production have been more effectively linked. Over 11,600 experts from some 4,600 enterprises and public institutions have been engaged to revise the introduction of the above-mentioned 1,349 majors. We have also launched 558 modern apprentice programs on a trial basis covering 501 schools and over 1,000 sites.

Fourth, international cooperation has delivered big highlights. So far, Chinese vocational colleges have established stable ties with over 70 countries and international organizations, set up 25 "Luban Workshops" in partnership with 23 countries and regions, and launched "Chinese language plus vocational training" programs in more than 40 countries and regions. They have also launched over 1,000 institutions and programs with their partners in 28 countries and regions. Chinese vocational colleges have so far hosted some 20,000 overseas students. Over 1,000 teaching standards for vocational majors, 6,000 standards for vocational courses, and 2,000 courses have been introduced overseas.

Going forward, we will continue to modernize vocational education and carry out related reforms to promote well-rounded human development and support high-quality socio-economic development. We will work on the basis of enhancing the core capability of vocational colleges, and seek to break through by integrating it with industry. We will continue to integrate vocational and general education as a key task and innovate mechanisms for international exchanges and cooperation. With these efforts, General Secretary Xi Jinping's ardent expectations for vocational education will be transformed into fruitful actions on the vocational education front. Thank you.