training
in rotation of leading cadres above the county level,
and training of factory directors and managers for job
qualifications. Continuing education was also provided
for people engaged in scientific research and technological
development. These measures eased shortages of qualified
people for all social quarters. During this period, adult
education developed rapidly. From 1981, enrollment plans
of correspondence colleges and evening universities set
up by institutions of higher learning are implemented
together with enrollment plans of full-time colleges and
universities. To study at spare-time universities, vocational
universities, TV universities, correspondence universities
and evening universities in their spare time became part
of the life of many young people.
In the
field of adult education, schools run by social circles
had a fast development. In the mid-1990s, the emphasis
of non-government-run schools began shifting to secondary
and higher vocational education and vocational training
and to providing training for unemployed workers. |
|
This won appreciation from the government and laid-off
workers. In 1997, the State Council promulgated Regulations
on the Running of Schools by Social Circles. Statistics
show that, by 1997, social circles had set up and run
more than 50,000 schools of various kinds with a combined
enrollment of 10.66 million, and that non-award educational
institutions run by social circles trained 6 million people
annually. The status of non-government-run education changed
dramatically, from a supplement to government-run education
to an indispensable part of the country's educational
system.
In recent
years, adult education, following the progress of science
and technology, has been trying to provide multi-tiered
and diversified educational opportunities for employees
and laborers in urban and rural areas. With coordinated
efforts by the central and local governments, a lifelong
learning system that aims to improve the scientific and
educational qualities of laborers, has taken shape and
produced remarkable results in China. |
