A Comparative Study of Higher Education Expansion Policy in China

1
A Comparative Study of Higher Education
Expansion Policy in China India Theory
Practice

• SHREEPARNA ROY
• Dept. of East Asian Studies,
• University of Delhi, India

2
The presentation is divided into 4 parts

• I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY HIGHER
  EDUCATION
• II AN OUTLINE OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
  HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHINA INDIA
• III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY QUALITY
  OF EDUCATION
• IV THEORY PRACTICE

3
Some clarifications at the outset

• Why compare China India?
• Why not rely on statistics?
• Why policy analysis as methodology?

4
Some clarifications at the outset (1 of 3) Why
compare China India?

• Typical similarities Big countries, long
  history, foreign rule, most populous countries
  similar social problems
• Importance in regional global affairs
• Spectacular economic growth rate
• Potential to become large forces in the world
  economy
• Both have essential strengths cheap labor,
  large internal markets, high industrialization
• Human capital required in the era of knowledge
  economy in the 21st century

5
Some clarifications at the outset (2 of 3) Why
not rely on statistics?

• Definition of terms are different
• UNESCO definition one who can with
  understanding both read and write a short simple
  statement relevant to his everyday life Chinas
  definition one who can read and write 450 (In
  interior, 150) characters. which characters?
  Which words?
• Quantifying method of statistics is dissimilar
• A large no of Indian Muslims study in Madrasa.
  India is bound by law to accept them as literate.
  But, UNESCO does not recognize
• Official net enrolment rate in China
  overestimates students actually attending classes
  because it only records enrolment at the
  beginning of the school year
• Data collection technique is different
• Before 1992, the official net enrolment rate is
  defined as the share of children between 7 and 11
  enrolled in school. After 1992, no uniform
  definition is adopted. It varies across
  provinces (Tsui Kai-yuen, Economic Reform and
  Attainment in Basic Education in China, The
  China Quarterly, no. 149, march 1997)
• Statistics on China manifold

6
Some clarifications at the outset (3 of 3) Why
policy analysis as methodology?

• Policies are not formed in the vacuum, but are
  linked to each other
• They reflect socio-economic-political-cultural
  situation
• Importance of policies vary according to
  perception of policymakers
• In most developing countries, it is linked with
  emerging trend of development
• Policies change with economic development goals

7
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY HIGHER
EDUCATION

• Changed Perception of Development its Linkage
  with Education
• Viable Options for Developing Countries
• Development Higher Education

8
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (1of 7) 1. Changed Perception
of Development its Linkage with Education (1of
3)

• In the Enlightenment period it was realized that
  human beings can reshape their future influence
  the environment around them through knowledge
• But objective orientation of education in
  development kept changing with emergence of new
  development theories after the World War II
• In immediate post World War II period development
  meant economic prosperity
• Non-economic factors were analyzed for their
  contribution to economic growth
• Education, though regarded as residual, was
  more important than other factors of production,
  such as land, labour and capital
• Income generation through economic growth was
  overstressed whereas equitable distributions of
  that income other social aspects of development
  were grossly neglected. The result was some
  achievement coupled with various social problems

9
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (2 of7)1. Changed Perception of
Development its Linkage with Education (2 of 3)

• Since the 2nd half of the 20th century, the focus
  shifted towards non-economic aspects of
  development, especially Theodore Schultzs work
  on investment on human being, later developed
  into human capital theory
• High returns from investment in education and
  skill training in comparison to investment in
  physical capital increased importance of
  education skill training
• By last decades of the 20th century, theorists in
  general acknowledged that the real motive force
  of economic progress is people
• Some experts opine that the key to productivity
  growth is increase in human capital in general
• Some argue that it is research and development
• Both models affect development both depend
  heavily on expanding human capabilities

10
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (3of 7)1. Changed Perception of
Development its Linkage with Education (3 of 3)

• Education supplies educated workforceboth people
  with higher skills to carry out research those
  with more basic skills to put the results into
  practice
• The UN advocates human developmentputting
  overall development of individuals at the centre
  of all developmentdevelopment of the people,
  for the people by the people
• UN suggests 4 ways to create a desirable link
  between economic and human development.
  investing in education and skill training is one
  of them
• Development is now viewed as a harmonious
  combination of material (economic) and
  non-material (social) aspects
• Development is also viewed as indigenous, with
  people as subject of it. So, development is not
  possible with somebody elses knowledge and
  thinking. Everybody has to develop his or her
  creativity and capability through education,
  formal or non-formal
• The Millennium Development Goals reinforces
  importance of education in development

11
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (4of 7) 2. Viable Options for
Developing Countries (1 of 2)

• SIX CRITICAL AREAS OF CHOICE F. Harbison
• The choice between levels basic or higher
  education
• Literate workforce is necessary for sustained
  level of economic growth, but the effect of
  secondary and higher levels of education on
  economic growth has much shorter time lag than
  primary education
• Science and technology or liberal art education
• Manpower planning requires stress on sc tech
  education as realistic education but liberal art
  education fosters intelligence human values
• Formal or non-formal education
• Span of educationwhether it starts ends with
  formal schooling or is a lifelong process? Since
  the 1970s basic aim of education is to impart
  knowledge, not formal schooling. So, it can take
  place at home, at educational institutions or at
  workplace

12
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (5of 7) 2. Viable Options for
Developing Countries (2 of 2)

• Choice between quality and quantity of educated
  persons
• Increase enrollment to raise more low-skilled
  manpower quickly at the cost of quality or check
  expansion of enrollments to raise high quality
  manpower
• Purpose of education satisfy individual needs or
  the states needs
• Should education be an investment (economic
  implications of education), directed towards
  obtaining direct immediate results through
  vocational training or consumption (social
  welfare), aimed predominantly to enrich the
  individual
• Choice of incentives free play of market or
  provide incentive manipulate
• In the era of economic globalization, states have
  discarded the system of state controlled economy
  in favour of open market system as development
  strategy, including education. Should governments
  regulate education or allow market to play a free
  role?

13
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (6 of 7) 3. Development Higher
Education (1 of 2)

• IMPORTANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
• is backbone of development programmes plays
  vital role in development process
• fast economic growth requires high level trained
  manpower
• receptiveness to change capacity for
  development depend upon level of learning
  training
• economic globalization poses new challenges to
  established higher education systems

14
PART I INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
HIGHER EDUCATION (7 of 7) 3. Development
Higher Education (2 of 2)

• factors hindering higher educations contribution
  to development
• higher education products dont match development
  requirement
• quality and efficiency have deteriorated
• higher educations cost is extraordinarily high
• financing was socially inequitable and
  economically inefficient
• to acquire a competitive edge, higher education
  systems need to be reformed
• suggestions to governments
• enhance quality, improve efficiency, share cost
  with beneficiaries contain educational output
  (WB)
• effective policy measures efficient
  implementation (UN)

15
PART II AN OUTLINE OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHINA INDIA

• Traditional Education
• Higher Education since the Second Half of the
  20th Century
• Contemporary Economic Reform and Higher Education
  Policy

16
PART II AN OUTLINE (1 of 8) 1. Traditional
Education (1 of 3)

• Necessity
• Education without broad clear cultural
  consciousness remains a limited craft
• The history of education is also history of
  culture
• Education reform is linked closely to a countrys
  cultural transformation
• Must know the socio-political-cultural-economic
  situation in which it is to function

17
PART II AN OUTLINE (2 of 8) 1. Traditional
Education (2 of 3)

• HISTORICAL SIMILARITIES
• High respect for education, but elitist
  confined to a handful of people
• Hierarchical education system with importance to
  birth social class
• China
• By the Tang dynasty, schools were divided into
  three levels by imperial order to cater to
  children of high, middle low ranking officials
  
• India
• Hindu education in Gurukul was tailored to the
  needs of Brahmin boys who were taught by Brahmin
  teachers
• Muslim education was similarly elitist, although
  its orientation reflected economic factors rather
  than those of caste background

18
PART II AN OUTLINE (3 of 8) 1. Traditional
Education (3 of 3)

• POINT OF DEPARTURE (early 20th C with Republican
  era in China)
• China
• Experimentation with various foreign models of
  education
• Succeeded to break free from 3000 year old
  traditional Confucian education
• Broke the direct link between learning and
  bureaucratic power
• Education reached commoners through Communist
  mass literacy campaigns
• India
• Followed the British system under British rule
  (1757-1947) with no other option
• British education policies reinforced elitist
  tendencies by tying entrance advancement in
  government service to academic education
• India strengthened the link between learning and
  bureaucratic power
• Formal education concentrated into the hands of
  Bhramins because of tradition of learning few
  other powerful cultivator castes

19
PART II AN OUTLINE (4 of 8) 2. Higher Education
since the Second Half of the 20th Century (1 of 2)

• China
• Education ministry split into MoE MoHE under
  two ministers (1952)
• Main objective of higher education train experts
  for economic growth
• To elevate educational level of the masses was
  secondary task Suzanne Pepper, Radicalism and
  Education Reform in 20th Century China p. 181
• Since 2nd FYP period policies of walking on 2
  legs, 2 kinds of labour 2 kinds of education
  system were implemented to improve quality
• This education policy did not conform to the
  nationalistic, scientific popular
  character of education, Mao opposed by creating
  his own set of education policy implemented
  them during GLF, SEM CR
• Faced serious contradiction between political
  ideology practical need (red-expert debate)
  over educations role with disastrous effect on
  higher education

20
PART II AN OUTLINE (5 of 8) 2. Higher Education
since the Second Half of the 20th Century (2 of
2)

• India
• continued with same education policies as under
  the British rule (stress on formal higher
  education in humanities and natural sc.), because
• inherited its socio-political system from the
  British, systems need remained the same
• partition of India, ensuing communal violence,
  large number of refugees internally displaced
  people and other social problems warranted
  immediate attention
• high status of bureaucracy govt. service pulled
  youth towards formal education. Vocational
  technical education grew slowly, but growth was
  more in formal high level technical education
  due to tradition
• non-formal education system was implemented as
  late as in 1979
• India lagged behind China in training mid-level
  technicians for economic growth
• education is a social cause, to enrich
  individuals overall development
• no contradiction over the political and economic
  role of education

21
PART II AN OUTLINE (6 of 8) 3. Contemporary
Economic Reform and Higher Education Policy(1 of
3)

• China opted for market economy in 1978.
• Centered higher education reforms towards
  achieving the goal of socialist modernization
  based on economic reform in 1985
• India adopted the National Policy on Education in
  1986 initiated a long-term series of programs
  aimed at improving education system. The policies
  put more stress on basic education
• Indias economic reform started only in 1991

22
PART II AN OUTLINE (7 of 8) 3. Contemporary
Economic Reform and Higher Education Policy (2
of 3)

• Chinas Education reform policies broadly consist
  of reform of five sectors Higher Education in
  China (Beijing, Government Handbook, 1999), p. 3
• Education provision bifurcate expand
  enrolment, but promote key institutes for quality
  education
• Management system reform decentralization of
  decision making, joint establishment, adjustment,
  cooperation merger
• Investment finance share cost with
  beneficiaries (tuition fee), decentralization
  of investment to include provincial government,
  fund raising by individual institutions
• Recruitment job-placement abolish job
  security allow market role
• The inner-institute management

23
PART II AN OUTLINE (8 of 8) 3. Contemporary
Economic Reform and Higher Education Policy (3
of 3)

• India Focus of the Ninth Plan (1997-2002)
• Measures for quality improvement modernization
  of syllabi
• Extra-budgetary resource mobilization
• Greater attention to issues in governance
• Special focus on issues of educational access
  relevance
• Conferment of grater autonomy to deserving
  colleges
• Professional upgradation of teachers
• Consolidation and optimal utilization of the
  existing infrastructure through institutional
  networking, restructuring expansion

24
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY OF EDUCATION

• Scale of Expansion of Higher Education in China
  India
• Strategies for Quality Improvement Achievement

25
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (1 of 8) 1. Scale of Expansion of Higher
Education in China India (1 of 3)

• Development in institutions enrolments in
  Regular Institutions of Higher Education China
  1990-2005

Source China Statistical Yearbook, 2006, pp.
799-801
26
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (2 of 8) 1. Scale of Expansion of Higher
Education in China India (2 of 3)

• All India Growth of Student Enrolment (1990 to
  2005)

Source University Grants Commission Source
Government of India, 2007, Selected Educational
Statistics 2004-2005
27
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (3 of 8) 1. Scale of Expansion of Higher
Education in China India (3 of 3)

• India basic statistics at the beginning of
  2006-07 academic yr
• 369 Universities (222 State Universities, 20
  Central Universities, 109 Deemed Universities, 5
  Institutions established under state legislations
  13 Institutes of National Importance
  established by Central Legislation)
• 18,064 colleges
• total number of students enrolled more than 11
  million
• 13 enrolled in University Departments the rest
  in affiliated colleges
• Source MHRD, 2007

28
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (4 of 8) 2. Strategies for Quality
Improvement Achievement (1 of 5)

• Two broad areas that deal with the issue of
  higher educations quality restructuring the
  education system enhancing the quality of both
  students and faculty
• China and India have adopted a number of policies
  towards this end bifurcation of higher
  education, management reform, admission and
  evaluation system reform, curriculum reform,
  teachers training, international cooperation
  etc.
• Though similar, content scale are sometimes
  very different

29
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (5 of 8) 2. Strategies for Quality
Improvement Achievement (2 of 5)

• in China education is becoming an industry, in
  India, is social cause
• in China privatization is encouraged, India
  restricts role of private players
• in China high tuition is serious problem, in
  India it is almost free
• in China non-formal education is well
  established, in India started off in 1979, high
  prestige for formal higher education
• in China mid level vocational-technical education
  is stressed, in India high-tech education is
  among the best in the world China world
  factory, India world laboratory
• in China one entrance exam decides the fate of
  students, in India one can apply in as many
  colleges one wishes to. In few cases of all India
  entrance exam candidates get minimum 3 chances
• Indias people friendly policy adherence to
  social justice makes it lag far behind China in
  educational achievements also in human
  development

30
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (6 of 8) 2. Strategies for Quality
Improvement Achievement (3 of 5)

• Table 3 A comparison of China and Indias
  achievement

31
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (7 of 8) 2. Strategies for Quality
Improvement Achievement (4 of 5)

• Chinas weak points success at high social cost
• improving quality in some universities only
• contributed to large scale disparity in all
  segments of education system
• access to quality education limited upon locale
  financial status
• citizens are denied constitutional right to equal
  treatment
• media often report suicides by parents unable to
  afford education cost of their children high
  suicide rate among youth
• politically and morally it is probably hard to
  justify the outcome
• As a socialist country that came into existent
  fighting the socio-economic disparity promised
  its citizens equality on every aspect of life,
  now does the same itself

32
PART III HIGHER EDUCATION EXPANSION POLICY
QUALITY (8 of 8) 2. Strategies for Quality
Improvement Achievement (5 of 5)

• Indias weak points
• India produces world class high level
  professional experts without discriminating
  against any citizen
• But except these (7.5 of all higher education
  graduates), quality of higher education is much
  below the international standard
• Indias higher education policy and measures
  actually hinder improvement of quality
• Elitism, regional disparity, unequal distribution
  of fruits of education low quality remain
  common problem in both countries

33
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (1 of 7)

• International theory Vs practice in developing
  countries
• several changes in theoretical conceptions of
  development, theoretical conceptions of education
  their linkage during last 6 decades
• no single strategy successful in solving problems
  of the developing countries till date
• some experts allege large gap between theory and
  implementation of policies
• some argue no strategy without one weak point
• some opine alien ideas are imposed upon people,
  so they do not respond to them, so similar
  policies have different impact on different
  countries. Socio-political-cultural background
  plays a very important role
• some stress on effective implementation measures

34
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (2 of 7)

• international recommendation on higher education
  policy choices Vs practice in China and India
• Out of 4 WB suggestions (quality, efficiency,
  cost sharing containment of output)
• China on theory does not implement containment of
  output (in practice it does), implements the
  other three through decentralization and free
  market
• India does not implement containment and cost
  sharing, implements the other two through
  government control and allowing limited market
  intervention

35
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (3 of 7)

• Government policy Vs practice in China India

36
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (4 of 7)

• Other Factors Influencing Education Policy
  Formulation Implementation that Influence
  Higher Education Quality
• state ideology political system
  socio-cultural reality
• state ideology
• The communist ideology guarantees equality of
  conditions, unlike in a democracy, where equality
  of opportunity is stressed. Socialism with
  Chinese characteristics is a different story
• Indian state ideology is socialism, is a welfare
  state

37
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (5 of 7)

• political system
• China
• Being a single-party system, the CPC led govt can
  take implement any decision in the absence of
  opposition parties
• The govt is authoritarian (we remember Tiananmen
  crackdown, 1989)
• India
• Multi party liberal democracy system requires
  debate on each decision with the opposition
  parties before approval for implementation
• India is ruled by coalition govt. Govt. decisions
  must satisfy coalition partners before debating
  in the parliament. Often leads to compromise.
• Soft rule freedom of speech freedom of
  expression of citizens are never violated
• Legal interventions through PIL sometimes lead to
  policy withdrawal

38
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (6 of 7)

• socio-cultural reality
• population policy
• China Implemented in 1979, fertility rate
  dropped from 5.81 in 1970 to 1.82 in 2001
• India initiates in 1952, National Population
  Policy of India formulated in 2000 with the long
  term objective of achieving a stable population
  by 2045, fertility rate above 4
• internal migration/mobility
• China strict control over movement of citizens
• India free mobility draws good students to good
  institution, while regional institutions teach
  leftovers, deteriorating students quality
• Reservation policy based on religion caste in
  India
• Religion and minority run institutions in India

39
PART IV THEORY PRACTICE (7 of 7)

• Suggestions
• China too dictatorial, India too liberallittle
  change in attitude will bring good result
• Future Indian govt. will continue with popular
  policies over remedial measures for political
  survival
• China can implement Taiwan style multi-channel
  admission policy to reduce unequal access to
  education other disparities
• China thus will be much ahead than India in
  producing high quality human capital
  universalizing education at all levels

40

• Thank you
• SHREEPARNA ROY
• Dept. of East Asian Studies,
• University of Delhi, India