Localization of higher education and its social consequences in China, 1993–2007

Abstract

Reviewing major higher education policies since the year 1993 when the blueprint of education reform was promulgated, this article examines some social consequences of the recent development and continuous expansion of higher education in Mainland China. One of the most noticeable characteristics of the Chinese higher education system in recent years has revealed itself not only from the trend of massification, but also from the movement towards localization in line with the decentralization of power and authority from the central government to run universities at localities which are supposed to be entitled with a higher degree of autonomy in resource allocation and institutional management. This article argues that although the higher education system in Mainland China has been massified and expanded rapidly to cater to drastically growing demands over the past decade, both the massification and localization of higher education have contributed to a number of undesirable consequences for the Chinese society, including regional disparity, social inequality, employment mismatch and even impoverishment of rural families from which many university students come. It should be noted that these social consequences can hamper the progress of social development in Mainland China if these problems are not immediately tackled in a proper way.

Keywords:

• localization
• decentralization
• massification
• higher education
• regional disparity
• China

Acknowledgement

This article is sponsored by the Research Project Fund of the Key Research Bases of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education of China, no. 09070-3149302.

Notes

1. HEIs that were not comprehensive in terms of their programs delivered. They were very specialized universities or colleges focusing on one or two specialities, such as textile, geology or machine-building.

2. A national program implemented since 1996 in China, which aims to achieve remarkable improvements in teaching, research, administration and efficiency in 100 institutions of higher education and in certain key disciplinary areas in the twenty-first century.