According to statistics from the Beijing Admission Office of Higher Learning, 64,000 students took part in the annual college entrance examinations in Beijing. The number was an increase of 13 percent over last year. More examination halls were added to cope with the new situation. College expansion is still a hot topic among the exam-takers and their parents. The nation's policy to enroll more students in college should help solve the contradiction between the supply and demand of higher learning.
Zhang Baoqing, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education, said, "The structure of our education system, from primary school to schools of higher learning is like a pagoda. The small-scale of higher education has always been a tough problem in our system. So we want to change the situation, by expanding colleges and universities."
A parent said, "I think the state policy of expanding college enrollment is formed on the basis of the national situation in China. It is welcomed by all, because all our children should receive higher education in order to improve the overall quality of our nation."
The expansion of the college system is focusing on certain majors. Departments of those subjects, such as electronics, information, computing and communications, that are urgently needed for China's development, will enroll more students. The Western Regions in China will have a higher quota of admitted students, as the policy is to change the unbalanced educational situation in these areas. Furthermore, the expansion of college education will also include students from abroad, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Wu Zhenfyi, director of the Admission Office, Qinghua University, said, "The expansion of enrollment in all majors includes students from these places without any exception. But they don't take the national unified college entrance exams, or the inland college entrance exams. They take a combined examination set by mainland universities under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. This also reflects our policy to provide students with more opportunities for higher learning."
China has a favorable macro-environment to develop higher education, as the government encourages all social organizations to invest in higher education with financial aid. The top priorities in the reform of higher education have become the improvement of academic disciplines, training of teaching staff and updating the educational infrastructure. The basic aim of expanding college enrollment is to empower all institutions of higher learning to improve their quality as well as increase their numbers.
There are about 5.6 million college students and over 20 percent of them are struggling financially. As schools begin to expand recruitment and reform admission fees, more students will have an opportunity to attend college. All schools are carrying out different ways of helping the economically disadvantaged students. National loans for students have taken a great load off the minds of potential students and their parents.
Chen Jianlong, director of the Dept. for Student Affairs, Beijing Univ. Said, "We call this a non-guarantor-loan, or credit loan. We began to issue this kind of loan last year, and achieved good results. Up to now, about 1,000 students have got about 1.4 million yuan of national loans for education."
Financially challenged students get loans on credit and will repay the loan with their income after graduation. It is a kind of intellectual investment and also a beneficial experiment for students to manage their own credit.
A college student said, "There are a large portion of poor students in any college and university. They cannot spend all their time and energy on learning because of their financial burdens. Now, with the help of special loans, those students will concentrate more on their books and finish their education smoothly. I think it is very helpful for all of us."
Every school of higher learning now has a special way of helping their students out. The Green Passage, in Qinghua University, for instance, has expanded its service from free transport to other more functional activities.
Tang Jie, deputy director of the Dept. for Student Affairs, Qinghua Univ. Said, "The connections of the Green Passage are now more expansive and well resourced. It starts from the home of the newly recruited students. From the time they receive their enrollment notice, they'll be informed about the policy of economic aid in Qinghua and introduced to the Green Passage. It ends before the students' graduation. They can get help via the Green Passage if they have financial difficulties. We aim for students to feel at ease at school and to finish their schooling without financial worries."
For developing work like this, the Ministry of Education has been cooperating with banks and financial departments to carry out all provisions of the nation's student loans system. With their help, the discounted loans will arrive timely so that more people will be able to receive higher education.
Zhang Youcai, vice minister of the Ministry of Finance, said, "In line with the nation's demand for educated personnel, the government increased its investment to help those poor and excellent students who have unequal social conditions for opportunity and competition. We have a financially preferential policy towards the middle and western regions, 60 percent of the financial aid is for education. This offers a good opportunity for more people to attend colleges and universities."
According to the requirements of the China Program for Education Reform and Development, the Ministry of Education has reformed 182 institutions of high learning and merged 57 of them. A new way is opening up in China's higher education system.
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