Marketization of higher education in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

Reforms of higher education in P.R.C. since the overall promulgation of the socialist market economy have impacted both the employment of graduates and the funding mechanism of higher education. All students are charged tuition starting from the academic year of 1995/96 and are “employed” rather than “assigned to jobs” after graduation. It is evident that market forces start to have a role to play in marketization of higher education in P.R.C. because it influences both the students' choices of disciplines leading to future career opportunities and the government's allocation of public spending in higher education. British universities are ahead of their Chinese counterpart in experiencing the impact of market forces on higher education. The framework of marketization of higher education in Britain will be discussed with considerations of unique characteristics of higher education in the P.R.C.