China News Network Jinhua, May 5 Question: Zhejiang Education Observation: Vocational school students get offers from famous foreign schools, why?
Reporter Tong Xiaoyu
Can vocational education stop at specialty? This is the doubt of many people, and some will give an affirmative answer. A few days ago, a good news from Yongkang Vocational and Technical School in Zhejiang Province overturned this idea.
According to the content of the good news, 6 students from the international class of Yongkang Vocational and Technical School (hereinafter referred to as "Yongkang Vocational and Technical School") in Zhejiang Province received admission notices from world-renowned universities in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Singapore and other countries.
Among them, Yang Yahan, an international student of the school, was admitted to the world's top school, the University of Bristol.
For a long time, many people believe that after attending vocational school, studies and even life can be "looked to the end". The "academic leap" of these students breaks people's traditional understanding of vocational education.
Why can vocational school students apply for offers from famous foreign schools? Yang Yahan said that as long as they are willing to learn, it is not so difficult for vocational school students to go abroad, as long as they pass the language score, they can directly enter overseas famous schools to study for undergraduate studies without examination, and the university diplomas obtained are recognized by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Her Yongkang Vocational and Technical School is the deputy director unit of the International Vocational Education Special Committee of Zhejiang China Vocational Education Society, which launched the vocational education internationalization project in 2019 and held several international classes.
Yang Yahan, an international student of the school, was admitted to the world's top school, the University of Bristol, UK, Courtesy of Yongkang Vocational and Technical School
Open the schedule of the international class, you can see that the course is not easy. In addition to professional courses, there are also international literacy courses, IELTS English courses, etc. IELTS is systematically taught by AICC International Education Center Gold Medal teachers, and the number of class hours is gradually increased from the first year of high school to the third year of high school.
"If you want to go abroad, you have to pass the language barrier, so we put a lot of energy into learning IELTS." Yang Yahan said that many people think that the study style of vocational schools is not good, but in their class, in order to go abroad, everyone is almost riveted to study.
As the head of the international side of the international class, Wei Dong said that at the beginning of enrollment, the school helps students plan their career direction and select the country, university and major that students want. In terms of courses, we also cooperate with overseas famous universities such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and South Korea.
"We want to prove that studying abroad is not the patent of ordinary high school students, and vocational school students can also 'go out'." The relevant person in charge of Yongkang Vocational and Technical School said that today, dozens of students of the school have gone to many countries to study for further study, and these talents can serve the development of the local hardware and foreign trade industry after returning to China.
The "counterattack" of Yongkang vocational and technical school students is riding the east wind of the modernization of China's vocational education.
Since the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed, the Ministry of Education and other departments have successively issued policies to support the international development of vocational education. Not only Zhejiang, more and more vocational school students go abroad through a series of cooperation.
In the reporter's view, the internationalization of vocational education not only improves the modern level of the school, but also cultivates a group of high-end compound talents who master vocational skills, have cross-cultural communication skills, and are familiar with international rules for regional development.
It's not just about studying abroad. The Ministry of Education issued the Catalogue of Vocational Education Majors (2021), which set up 247 higher vocational undergraduate majors, and the "ceiling" of vocational education stopping at the specialist level was broken.
The "landing" of vocational high school students entering graduate school is also nothing new. The reporter found that in recent years, many students have gone abroad through the credit mutual recognition study abroad program.
The opening of the entrance examination channel has also allowed secondary vocational students to continuously raise their imagination of the future. Zhang Yao, a student at Yongkang Vocational and Technical School, was admitted to Curtin University in Singapore. He doesn't know if he will go to graduate school in the future, but he feels that no matter which way he goes, the road to higher education is smooth and has no worries.
"Vocational education is a type of education that has the same importance as general education." The newly revised Vocational Education Law clarifies the status of vocational education. The "counterattack" of vocational school students has made "black and white" a reality.
In the reporter's view, academic qualifications are not only for "discounting gold", but for the refinement of skills, and promote the transformation of ordinary skill personnel training to compound innovative talent training. We have reason to believe that students who graduate from vocational schools will stand on a bigger stage. (End)