Behind the extension of compulsory education years is the expectation of extending national education years, improving national quality and further promoting economic and social development.
"In today's world, countries with relatively sustainable development capacity and countries that can rally after disasters are all countries with long national education time and high national quality." Yuan Zhenguo, director of the Education Department of East China Normal University, told China Newsweek.
The National Bureau of Economic Research of the United States analyzed the relevant data of 1950 ~ 20 10/6 countries, and found that every increase in per capita education years 1 year would increase the total economic output by at least 2%. The relevant research of the World Bank also shows that the GDP will increase by 9% for every increase in the per capita education time of the labor force 1 year.
Cai Fang, vice president of China Academy of Social Sciences, and his team's research also show that the econometric model analysis of manufacturing enterprises shows that if all employees of enterprises change from junior high school education to high school education, the labor productivity of enterprises will increase by 24%; If all of them are changed to college degrees, the labor productivity of enterprises can be increased by another 75%; From junior college to undergraduate, the labor productivity can be increased by 66%.
Generally, 15 ~ 64 years old is classified as working-age population internationally, while 16 ~ 60 years old male and 16 ~ 55 years old female are classified as working-age population in China. This year's government work report also clearly pointed out that during the "14 th Five-Year Plan" period, the average educational years of the working-age population should be increased to 1 1.3 years.
"At the beginning of the reform and opening up, the average education period of China's labor force was only 3.5 years. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China has made great efforts to run compulsory education well, and the education level has risen rapidly. At present, China's per capita education years have increased to 10.9 years. " Yuan Zhenguo said.
But in his view, it is not easy to extend citizens' years of education. Yuan Zhenguo said that it usually takes 8 ~ 10 years for a country's citizens to increase their education years by one year, which can not be achieved by a single government or a temporary increase in education investment, but by the long-term accumulation of basic education.
According to experts, the problem of "separation of general education and vocational education" still exists when compulsory education is extended to 12 years.
2 1 Xiong Bingqi, president of Century Education Research Institute, told China Newsweek, "Under the school-running mode of' separation of general education and vocational education' in senior high school, it is impossible to bring senior high school education into compulsory education, because it is necessary to determine whether to enter an ordinary senior high school or a secondary vocational school through the senior high school entrance examination, and there are obvious differences in school-running quality and characteristics between ordinary senior high school and secondary vocational school."
In his view, due to the basic characteristics of compulsory education, such as balance, compulsory, free and compulsory, in order to bring high school education into compulsory education in China, we must first solve the problem of separation of general education and vocational education, that is, we must build all high schools into comprehensive high schools and realize the balanced development of comprehensive high schools.
In addition, some experts in the industry worry that if high schools are included in compulsory education, it will lead to the decline of vocational and technical colleges.