The reporter learned from the press conference of the Ministry of Education on May 17 that China has built the largest higher education system in the world, with a total of more than 44.3 million students. The gross enrollment rate of higher education has increased from 30% in 20 12 to 57.8% in 200212, and higher education has entered a universally recognized stage.

The population receiving higher education in China has reached 240 million, and the average years of education of the newly-added labor force has reached 13.8 years. Major changes have taken place in the quality structure of the labor force, and the quality of the whole nation has been steadily improved. The continuous innovation of higher education in education mode, school-running mode, management system and guarantee mechanism has provided strong support for building an important talent center and innovative highland in the world.

The degree awarding system, professional catalogue system and management system of China characteristic universities have been continuously improved. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a total of 265 newly-added majors have been included in the catalogue of undergraduate majors. At present, there are 77 1 majors in the catalogue. Add 1.7 million undergraduate majors, cancel or stop 1.0 million. The adaptability of personnel training to new technologies, new industries and new formats has been significantly enhanced.