China - Higher Education Reform Project

Report No. PID6872 Project Name China-Higher Education Reform Project (@) Region East Asia and Pacific Sector Education Project ID CNPE46051 Borrower People's Republic of China Implementing Agency Foreign Investment and Loan Office (FILO) Ministry of Education 35 Damucang Hutong Xidan 100816, Beijing Tel: (01) 6609-6845/6609-6679 FAX: (01) 6602-0332 Date PID Prepared June, 1998 Project Appraisal January, 1999 Projected Board Date June 30, 1999 Country/Sector Background 1. The first wave of higher education reform came in the 1950s when the then communist government introduced a higher education system geared to train students to meet the manpower needs of government and the society at large. Destroyed by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), China's higher education system was rebuilt only in the late 1970s as one element of a strategy to modernize the country. Much external assistance at the time was in a piecemeal, rehabilitative mode. The 1978-94 period witnessed a remarkable proliferation of public, regular higher education institutions -- from 598 in 1978 to 1,080 in 1994. Enrollment numbers grew from 0.86 million in 1978 to 2.8 million in 1994. Full-time students in undergraduate and short-cycle courses grew at an annual growth rate of 7.7 percent. Graduate enrollment rose from zero to 0.13 million by 1994. The higher education participation rate at just over 4 percent of gross enrollment, however, is very low when comparison to other East Asian economies. For example, the higher education participation rate is 10 percent in Indonesia, 19 percent in Thailand, 20 percent in Hong Kong, 39 percent in Taiwan (China), and 51 percent in the Republic of Korea. This may have serious implications for the sustainability of economic growth and long-term social development in China. In relation to the pressures of a growing market economy, the higher education sub-sector as a whole faces some problems which may obstruct its further reform and development. 2. China's fast-growing economy with an annual average GDP growth rate of 9.89 in real terms between 1978 and 1994 has presented major challenges to the nation's higher education system which undertakes the tasks of (a) educating the leadership of and (b) generating knowledge for its long-term development effort. Destroyed by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), China's higher education system was rebuilt only in the late '70s as one element of a strategy to modernize the country. The 1978-94 period witnessed remarkable proliferation of public regular higher education institutions from 598 to 1,080 and of enrollment from 0.86 million to 2.8 million full-time students in  undergraduate and short-cycle courses at an annual growth rate of 7.7%. Graduate enrollment rose from zero to 0.13 million by 1994. However, the higher education participation rate at just over 4% of gross enrollment is very low in comparison with other fast-growing East Asian economies. 3. Since 1978, the Government has placed priority within the education sector upon rapid expansion and improvement of higher education to help reduce the human resource constraints on the country's economic and social development. In 1985, the Government adopted the document Decision on Education Reform that, inter alia, aimed at providing the mix of skills required in a rapidly developing society; to improve efficiency, quality and equity; and to release resources required to develop and enhance education at lower levels. More recently, in order to speed up transformation nationwide from a planned economy to a market economy, the Guidelines of China's Educational Reform and Development adopted a major strategic approach of decentralization in institutional management and administration while maintaining managerial oversight at the macro level. 4. A major sector study was undertaken in 1994 by the Bank with assistance from the government to review the Chinese higher education system. Consequently, a red-cover report entitled: China : Higher Education Reform was published in 1997 with thorough analysis of the sector and institution-wide issues and recommendations of policy options to the government. Project Objectives 5. Building on the sector work and its findings, the proposed project is designed to achieve the overall objective of improving the quality and relevance of undergraduate basic science and engineering programs through integrated reform activities in curriculum and teaching methodology; and to strengthen institutional and central curriculum planning and management so as to improve capacity to implement reforms in teaching and learning. Project Description The project has three components: (a) Achieving Improvement in Effective Teaching and Learning: - Review and renewal of curriculum content and teaching/learning method integrating reforms in experimental teaching/learning methods with new equipment - Upgrading and improving lab. faciities and utilization, library facilities - Upgrading teacher qualifications, training of teachers in new teaching methods and curriculum adaptation, lab. staff and librarians - Engaging institutions in selecting, testing, evaluating current content and teaching method, developing integrated approaches focusing on more practical student-centered learning, with better utilization of equipment and labs incorporating lab. safety and environmental considerations. (b) Using Partnerships and Networks to Spread Reforms: - Establishing cooperative relationships working on reform activities with partner universities in poor areas - Developing consortia/groups of institutions within project network to advance reform work in selected discipline-based areas of expertise - 2 -  (c) Supporting Institutional Capacity for Change - overall coordination and oversight of development of textbooks and instructional materials in print and electronic media; - studies on areas to be determined such as quality assurance and institutional evaluation technique; examination reform in higher education; lab. safety, environment and efficiency examination reform in higher education - pilot student assistant scheme in Lanzhou University; - organization of national-level training workshops, seminars, production of manuals and guidebooks, study visits; - oversight of Chinese Experts Panel (CEP) - institution-based management reform includes preparation and implementation of institutional strategic plans, introduction of efficiency improvement strategies, improving management through better utilization of MIS Project Cost and Financing 6. The total cost is estimated at about US$110 million. The Government of China is expected to provide US$40 million with IDA financing US$50million and IBRD of US$20 million. Project Implementation 7. The project will be implemented over a period of five years. The Ministry of Education through a project specific Steering Committee chaired by a Vice Minister would provide oversight on project implementation. A project implementation office, Foreign Investment and Loan office ( FILO), would provide overall coordination of project implementation and management of a central component. The carrying out of specific project components will lie with project institutions through the creation of a Steering Committee and a Project Implementation Office. Project management training for institutional staff will be jointly provided by the Bank and MOE during project preparation and at project startup. Sustainability 8. Institutionally, the project contributes to the overall sustainability of higher education through system and institution wide capacity building. The project components are designed to improve the quality and relevance of the undergraduate education, develop capacities for strategic planning and improved management efficiency. This strategy would help the government and the institutions formulate their long term policies and processes and disseminate the experience and lessons well beyond the project institutions and the life of the project. Financially, project funds are a small portion of the total public expenditure on higher education during the life of the project. The project is part of the on-going reform effort the government finances through regular budgetary allocations and targeted investment program based on its long term development plans and budgetary support. The project would also assist the institutions to develop capacity and mechanisms to diversify their financing resources in a more sustainable manner. Project Benefits 9. The anticipated benefits of the project are: (i) by establishing mechanisms to monitor efficiency gains at participating institutions and strengthening the capacity of administrations at the central and institutional - 3 -  levels, the project will contribute to the ongoing decentralization and expansion efforts in the nation's higher education system; (ii) by supporting science curricula reform and establishing new market-oriented disciplines, the project will help China train more highly skilled personnel necessary to the sustainability of its economic development; (iii) and by reviewing and piloting student assistance schemes, the project will reinforce the reform of financing higher education as part of the structural reforms in the country, addressing equity issues. Project Risks 10. Possible risks associated with the project are: (a) the potential impact of the Asian financial crisis on China's macro-economic situation could cause distortions on total public spending and demand of employment of graduates; (b) curriculum reforms may restrict to a textbook compiling process rather than developing on-going mechanisms and processes for curriculum renewal; (c) the limited institutional capacity for implementing reforms; and (d) lateral interactions between universities may impact adversely on development of sustainable partnership and disseminate practices. Environmental Aspects 11. The project would have no adverse impact on the environment and therefore will be a Category C. Program Objective Categories 12. Human capital development and institutional building. Contact Point: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone No. (202)458 5454 Fax No. (202) 522 1500 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain activities and/or components may not be included in the final project. Processed by the InfoShop week ending October 16, 1998. - 4 -