China has built the largest vocational education system in the world, an official said at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
At the State Council Information Office's press conference on the achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Vice Minister of Education Xiong Sihao talked about China's progress in vocational education from 2021 to 2025.
"China's institutions of vocational education currently are at three levels: secondary vocational schools, higher vocational colleges and bachelor-degree-awarding higher vocational colleges. With 9,302 secondary vocational schools, 1,562 higher vocational colleges, and 87 bachelor-degree-awarding higher vocational colleges, and a total enrollment of 34 million students, China has built the world's largest vocational education system. These schools offer 19 major categories, 97 subcategories, 1,434 specialties, and 120,000 specialized programs, addressing virtually all sectors of the national economy and covering all 41 major industrial sectors defined by the United Nations industrial classification," he said.
"We have restructured the specialties to align with national strategies, adding 12,000 new specialized programs over the past five years, with 10 percent of them adjusted on average annually, and half of these programs focus on engineering and techniques. We have improved the hierarchical structure to support the industrial upgrading, introducing 63 new bachelor-degree-awarding higher vocational colleges over the past five years, alongside 52 regular universities that have launched bachelor-degree-awarding vocational programs. We have optimized the layout to support regional and industrial development priorities, establishing industry-education alliances at city level and across sectors, thus enhancing the alignment of skilled talent development with regional economic and industrial development," Xiong said.
China establishes world's largest vocational education system: official
