Total number of general tertiary educational schools / institutions in China

 

As shown below, the number of general tertiary educational schools in China has expanded by 2.3 times from 1063 schools in 1987 to 2409 schools in 2011. This is because higher education develops rapidly. More schools are needed to accommodate the growing demand of tertiary education. Moreover, the government has also placed emphasis on higher education in China. Its vital role in economic construction, science progress and social development would require large size of talented manpower for the building of socialist modernization. Therefore, the government has channeled resources to the building of higher tertiary educational schools. With reference to other statistics such as the increasing number of new enrolled students in these higher institutions, the number of schools would be predicted to increase as well, however, the rate of growth would not be that fast relative to before.

 

Below is the chart of number of general tertiary educational schools / institutions in China from year 1987 - 2011:

Total number of vocational schools in China

On the contrary, the number of vocational schools in China is on a decline from 8300 schools In 1987 to 4856 schools in 2011 - 42% reduction in number. Vocational education has been very popular in the period of the 90s (having the highest number of vocational schools) as it is able to accommodate the demands of economic restructuring during that period of time. However, China has been continually evolving and progressing with time. People are moving towards modernization, towards better job prospects. People are beginning to question whether education in vocational schools is able to lead to their desired objectives- higher salaries, promotions, job status. Their lack of confidence in vocation education has resulted in the decrease in the number of vocational schools in China. This trend is expected to continue with the progress in the development of the country.

Below is the chart of number of vocational schools in China from year 1987 - 2011:

Total number of senior secondary schools in China

There is a drop in the number of senior secondary schools by 19% from 16,900 schools in 1987 to 13,688 schools in 2011. This is because during the period of the 1990s government has placed a great deal of emphasis in vocational education. Thus, vocational education is more popular during this period of time relative to regular secondary education. Vocational schools and senior secondary schools are substitutes. Their numbers have close relationship with one another. In the above analysis, it is expected that the number of vocational schools will decrease in number due to modernization of China. Thus, this will imply that the number of senior secondary schools in China will be expected to increase to cater to the growing demand of the population. This is also shown in the rising trend from the year 1997 with 13,900 schools to the year 2007 with 15,700 schools- 13.0% increase.

Below is the chart of number of senior secondary schools in China from year 1987 - 2011:

Average enrolled students in general tertiary educational schools / institutions

The average is calculated by taking the total number of enrolled students divided by the total number of general tertiary educational schools/institutions in China. The average has increased tremendously from 1431 students in 1978 to 9583 students in 2011, reflecting a 6.7 times increase over the years. The sharp rise in the average is largely due to substantial increase in the number of enrolled students in general tertiary educational schools. Another important point that can be inferred from the figures is the productivity level of the schools. With the increasing trend, it also reflects that China’s productivity in tertiary education is advancing as well- a desirable indicator to illustrate the success of the education reform in China. The trend would be expected to maintain as the number of enrolled students in tertiary education will continue to grow as the years to come.

Below is the chart of average enrolled students in general tertiary educational schools / institutions in China from year 1978 - 2011: