China News Service, Beijing, March 1 (Reporter Yuan Xiuyue) "The gross enrollment rate of higher education has exceeded 60%, which is a remarkable result of the high-quality development of the service population. At the same time as the scale of development, the internal talent training level and structure of higher education are more important. "On March 1, the Ministry of Education held a press conference to introduce the basic situation of national education development in 2023. Guo Peng, Director of the Development Planning Department of the Ministry of Education, said at the meeting.

  The conference site.

Photo by Yuan Xiuyue

There were 20,200 fewer schools at all levels and types nationwide than in the previous year.

There were 1.5126 million fewer students on campus than the previous year.

　　At the meeting, Guo Peng introduced multiple sets of data on the development of national education in 2023.

　　Data show that in 2023, there were 498,300 schools of all types and levels across the country, a decrease of 20,200 or 3.9% from the previous year; there were 291 million students enrolled in education at all levels and with various academic qualifications, a decrease of 1.5126 million from the previous year, a decrease of 3.9%. 0.52%; there are 18.9178 million full-time teachers, an increase of 114,200 over the previous year, an increase of 0.6%.

　　In terms of gross enrollment rate, there has been an increase in all types of schools at all levels.

In 2023, the gross enrollment rate of preschool education will be 91.1%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year, completing the "14th Five-Year Plan" goals ahead of schedule.

The nine-year compulsory education consolidation rate was 95.7%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.

The gross enrollment rate of high school students was 91.8%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.

The gross enrollment rate of higher education was 60.2%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous year, achieving the goals of the 14th Five-Year Plan ahead of schedule.

There are 274,400 kindergartens in the country

There are 40.9298 million children in preschool education

　　In terms of the number of schools and students, there are 274,400 kindergartens across the country.

Among them, there were 236,400 inclusive kindergartens, accounting for 86.16% of the country’s kindergartens, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year.

There are 40.9298 million children in preschool education.

Among them, there are 37.1701 million children in inclusive kindergartens, accounting for 90.81% of the country’s children in kindergartens, an increase of 1.26% over the previous year.

　　At the primary school level, there are 143,500 ordinary primary schools across the country.

The national primary school enrollment was 18.7788 million, an increase of 1.765 million or 10.37% over the previous year; there were 108 million students in school, an increase of 1.0397 million or 0.97% over the previous year.

At the junior high school level, there are 52,300 junior high schools across the country, with an enrollment of 17,546,300 students, an increase of 232,500 people or 1.34% over the previous year.

There were 52.4369 million students enrolled, an increase of 1.231 million or 2.4% over the previous year.

　　At the high school level, there are 15,400 general high schools across the country, an increase of 355 over the previous year; enrollment is 9.678 million, an increase of 202,600 over the previous year, an increase of 2.14%; there are 28.0363 million students, an increase of 897,500 over the previous year. An increase of 3.31%.

There are 7,085 secondary vocational education schools in the country (excluding technical schools managed by the human resources and social security departments), with an enrollment of 4.5404 million students and 12.9846 million students.

In 2023, a total of 1.1484 million master's students will be enrolled nationwide.

Vocational undergraduate enrollment increased by 17.82%

　　Guo Peng introduced that the total number of students studying in various forms of higher education in 2023 will be 47.6319 million, an increase of 1.0811 million or 2.32% over the previous year.

　　A total of 10.4222 million students were enrolled in general and vocational undergraduate and junior college programs across the country, an increase of 2.73% over the previous year.

Among them, general undergraduate enrollment was 4.7816 million, an increase of 2.19% over the previous year.

The number of vocational undergraduate students enrolled was 89,900, an increase of 17.82% over the previous year.

　　A total of 1,301,700 graduate students were enrolled nationwide, an increase of 4.76% over the previous year.

Among them, 153,300 doctoral students were enrolled, an increase of 10.29% over the previous year; 1,148,400 master's students were enrolled, an increase of 4.07% over the previous year.

There were 3.8829 million postgraduate students studying, an increase of 6.28% over the previous year.

Among them, there are 612,500 doctoral students, an increase of 10.14% over the previous year; 3,270,500 master's students, an increase of 5.59% over the previous year.

Steadyly expand the scale of graduate talent training

Continue to promote the construction of new engineering, new medical, new agricultural, and new liberal arts

　　It was introduced at the meeting that opportunities for higher education admissions will further increase in 2023.

As the scale of higher education continues to expand, what measures does the Ministry of Education take in cultivating high-level talents?

　　Guo Peng said that it is necessary to steadily expand the scale of graduate talent training.

He pointed out that in recent years, the scale and proportion of postgraduate students, especially doctoral students, have continued to increase, providing a steady stream of high-level talent support for high-quality economic development.

　　In addition, the high-level talent training structure must be continuously optimized.

Guo Peng said that from the perspective of degree types, we should persist in promoting the classified development of academic innovative talents and practical innovative talents, increase the enrollment scale of professional degree graduate students, and strengthen the cultivation of high-level application-oriented leading talents in the field of engineering technology.

In 2023, the enrollment ratio of professional degree graduate students will be close to 60%.

　　From the perspective of subject structure, facing the new requirements for talent training put forward by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, colleges and universities should be guided to optimize the subject structure, increase the intensity of STEM talent training, and accelerate the cultivation of scientific and technological innovation talents.

In 2023, master's degree enrollment in science, engineering, agriculture and medicine will account for 60%, and doctoral enrollment will account for more than 80%.

　　At the same time, we must continue to strengthen the strategic scientific and technological talent pool in key areas.

Increase the scale of postgraduate training in basic disciplines and key nationally urgent fields.

Deepen the integration of science and education, support high-level universities and scientific research institutions to strengthen organized talent training and scientific and technological research, cultivate innovative talents in major scientific research tasks, and support high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance.

　　Gao Dongfeng, deputy director of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, said that in the next step, we will benchmark the outline of the plan for building a strong educational country, continue to promote the construction of new engineering, new medical, new agricultural, and new liberal arts, deepen the integration of industry and education, and the integration of science and education, and accelerate the construction of new engineering, new medical, new agricultural, and new liberal arts. The new ecology of "artificial intelligence + education" strives to improve the quality of independent training of top innovative talents and provide talent guarantee to solve the problems of "stuck in the neck", "stuck in the brain" and "stuck in the throat".

(over)