China’s college exams, the Gaokao
The Gaokao is China’s national standardized test taken by students in their senior year at high school, which is similar to the well-known American SAT tests. It has become very popular in China and is now considered the standard requirement for those students wishing to enter higher levels of education. Going to University is often considered a life changing experience not only as it sees through the transition from teenager to adulthood but also provides better future prospects, a key focus and objective for many young children and their families in China. Click here for the full article.
Source: China Daily
China Pre-school Education (Kindergarten) Industry Research Report, 2016
Following a vast array of education reforms in 2010 with an estimated investment of RMB204.876 billion the industry report shows progression and an easing of some of China’s problematic areas within education. Policies such as the medium and long term programs for national education reform and development (2010-2020) and policies set out to develop preschool education, have seen a major uplift in the quality of education and an increase in the number of pre-school Kindergartens within China. Statistics have shown the number of Kindergartens almost doubled from 116,000 in 2003 to 219,000 at the end of 2015. The highest uptake of enrollment was seen in the larger well developed cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Click here for the full article and a link to the industry report in full.
Source: The Street
Education minister says university funding should be capped again
Adrian Piccoli, education minister for NSW has publicly announcing his call for capping places to meet demands in the Australian labour market. This sentiment however, has not been echoed by the Turnbull government. Currently, the public universities operate under a demand-driven system where they get access to funding based on the number of bachelor-degree students they can enroll. Piccoli is arguing that this should be revised to the number of bachelor-degree students they should enroll is determined by the labour market. He told Fairfax media “Why are we training all of these people when the majority of them won’t get jobs?”. Simon Birmingham, the federal education minister, stated that there were ‘no plans to reinstate caps’, but that university admission standards and practices would be examined. As it stands, education fees and regulation remain a contentious talking point to do with national budget savings. Proposed changes and regulations will have to navigate the complicated task of reducing national spending whilst not jeopardising the countries educational standards. . Click here for the full article.
Source: The Guardian
Three explanations for exciting growth in Asia-Pacific student mobility
With over fifty percent of all cross-border students originating from Asia, countries like China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan have their sights set on a continuation of this trend. Simon Marginson from The Australian puts forward three convincing arguments that explain this t