On April 3, the Ministry of Education announced a new measure to reform the college entrance examination enrollment system, that is, to cancel the restriction of "unmarried, no more than 25 years old" in the 200 1 college entrance examination. This move is not shocking to the society, but it has far-reaching significance.
On the second day after the announcement of this policy, a reporter interviewed Qu Zhenyuan, director of the Student Affairs Office of the Ministry of Education. He emphasized three points. First, the introduction of the new policy will not have an impact on this year's college entrance examination students, with different starting points. Senior three students' familiarity with high school content is not the same as that of senior high school students now. Second, it will not have a big impact on higher vocational education; Thirdly, it is emphasized that judging talents depends on "academic ability", not just "academic qualifications". As for the impact on the future, such as the management of student status and academic qualifications brought about by relaxing candidates' application conditions, Qu Zhenyuan said that the Ministry of Education will make corresponding adjustments and will soon introduce relevant policies, and policies on the credit system and flexible academic system will be announced to the public.
In this regard, our reporter interviewed Professor Wei Xin, Vice President of Peking University Education Research Institute. Wei Xin analyzed the problems existing in the education system in China. He said: "Higher education in China is divided into two categories according to age. One is general higher education, except for special industries, such as the army and public security; The other is adult education. Adult education in China has developed for more than ten years, and now there are about 1000 adult education colleges, including technical secondary schools, junior colleges, technical schools, vocational schools, TV universities and teachers' continuing education colleges. Many universities have adult education departments or education colleges, but their functions have changed greatly. Adult education has not absorbed most working students, and its main source of students is those who have fallen behind. So it was cancelled. However, the conditions for the integration of the two systems are not yet available. " He emphasized that the abolition of the age limit for college entrance examination paved the way for citizens' equal right to education and the development of "lifelong education".
Wei Xin believes that after the age limit is abolished, China will be similar to the United States in many aspects, such as implementing the credit system and promoting community education. At present, there are 6.5438+005 million students in American community colleges, accounting for 45% of the total undergraduate students in the United States. The average age of community college students is 29. About 36% of the students are full-time students (that is, taking courses with more than 12 credits for one semester) and 64% are part-time students. The basic function of community colleges is to provide pre-university education (that is, courses before two years of college or specialized courses), vocational training and community services, and its functions are similar to those of adult education and vocational high schools in China.
Duan Yonggang, a doctor of communication at China Academy of Social Sciences, believes that age should not be an obstacle to receiving education. Many retired people in the United States enter college classes, and it is not news that people in their 80 s get degrees. The development of high technology is the basis of fully implementing "lifelong education". This year, the EU will build a world-leading European scientific research and teaching Internet, which will greatly improve the learning and scientific research level of students of different ages in Europe. The emergence and rapid development of American distance education provides another channel for the implementation of "lifelong education". According to statistics, the number of people learning through learning websites in the United States is increasing at a rate of 300% every year, and more than 70 million people gain knowledge and work skills through e-learning. Most schools in the United States have been connected to the internet, and learning-related websites are constantly emerging. Yahoo search engine can find 29 1 websites related to Elearning. At present, many famous universities are scrambling for the "new field" of Internet education.
Previously, in order to break through the drawbacks of the traditional education system, some schools have made useful explorations. The placement system of Wuhan University has been implemented for more than ten years. It requires students to get some achievements in the professional field, reach the third year of college, pass the exams organized by the school, and graduate after completing the credits. The treatment and distribution at school are the same as those of students at school, and there is no age limit. The placement system has trained a large number of practical talents for the country. The credit system is improving. Because of the merger of colleges and universities, students have more elective courses and more choices, and they can graduate early after completing credits. The reform of campus management system brought about by the merger of universities provides living and learning conditions for married or older students. Hunan University, Hunan Normal University and Central South University have formed a huge "University Town" at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. Peking University and Tsinghua University are building student apartments off campus. Although older students live in student apartments and are married with children, all the problems have been solved.
The college entrance examination is not limited to age and has a favorable shock wave.
Academic education reform college entrance examination is not limited to age.
People from all walks of life in Guangdong province reacted strongly to the policy of the Ministry of Education that enrollment for this year's college entrance examination is not restricted by age and marriage. Yesterday, when the reporter conducted an in-depth interview on this topic, the relevant people agreed with the starting point of this reform, believing that it was a major reform to promote quality education and make academic education transition to lifelong education in China.
Since China resumed the college entrance examination system, it has been stipulated that unmarried people under the age of 25 can apply for colleges and universities. This reform is to relax this restriction, stipulating that applying for colleges and universities is not restricted by age and marriage. Secondary vocational school graduates can also apply for undergraduate courses in ordinary colleges and universities, which is no longer limited to higher vocational colleges. Whether you are an 80-year-old man or a "mom and dad" with children, you can take the national unified college entrance examination.
"This is a major breakthrough from the concept of education to the education system since the liberation of China." Some educators said this in an interview. They believe that the college entrance examination is no longer restricted by age and crowd, which conforms to the trend of world education development, is an important step towards the opening and internationalization of education in China, and will have a great impact on forming a good atmosphere for seeking knowledge and learning, improving the cultural quality of the whole nation and promoting social civilization and progress.
Equal opportunities in universities, regardless of gender and age.
For people of different social classes, the practical effect of relaxing the scope of college entrance examination is to provide equal opportunities for higher education. Whether it is a generation of middle-aged people who were delayed by the Cultural Revolution or children who were forced to interrupt their studies because of life, they can continue to sprint to their college dreams if conditions permit; Both migrant workers and female workers can continue their college career after earning enough money to support their families.
The introduction of this reform will also help alleviate the psychological pressure of poor middle school students and those who failed in the college entrance examination. Because temporary backwardness and failure will not determine the direction of life, the door of the university will always be open to persistent pursuers.
Will the diploma depreciate when the competition becomes more intense?
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Education said that in the next few years, the enrollment scale of ordinary colleges and universities in China will continue to expand. This year, the policy of relaxing the entrance conditions for the college entrance examination has just been introduced. Many people in society will not apply for the exam because they don't have time to review and prepare, so there is no need for freshmen to be nervous and panic. However, in the long run, relaxing the application conditions means that more people will participate in the college entrance examination competition, which will inevitably increase the competitive pressure of freshmen in senior three.
For this kind of pressure, students in key middle schools take it lightly: "We have prepared for the college entrance examination for so many years, and have experienced so many trainings and exams, are we still afraid of them?" There are also middle school teachers who believe that high school students who have received formal education are not dragged down by life, work and family, and concentrate on their studies at school, which is definitely superior to the candidates in society.
Some teachers also pointed out that social candidates whose physical strength and energy are not as good as those of teenagers, whose tortuous life experience and work practice will make them surpass junior high school students in practical ability, curiosity and fighting spirit. The so-called "as long as the kung fu is deep, the iron pestle is ground into a needle", perhaps their competitiveness will far exceed the imagination of middle school students.
The same competition will also appear in the field of employment. With the expansion of university enrollment, more and more people have university diplomas. Can a college diploma still be popular? Similarly, with a college degree, employers must also "choose the best among the best" when selecting talents. Will social candidates who have been honed by society know how to absorb knowledge in a targeted way after going to college be more favored by employers in the employment competition? And how should university education create a good competition mechanism, cultivate competitive practical talents, expand and develop higher-level master's and doctoral education, and digest more undergraduates? These related problems will also follow.
Guangdong will introduce measures to relax the application conditions
Why did this reform measure choose to be introduced now? Qu Zhenyuan, director of the Student Department of the Ministry of Education, explained the background, saying that the continuous expansion of the scale of higher education, especially the enrollment expansion of colleges and universities nationwide in recent years, laid the foundation for the implementation of this reform.
Qu Zhenyuan pointed out that since the 1980s, the enrollment scale of college entrance examination in China has been around 300,000, and the admission rate of college entrance examination has been 20%-25%. However, in recent years, the number of college students in China has reached about 2.5 million, and the admission rate of college entrance examination has reached about 57%. At the same time, the socialization reform of university logistics and the implementation of policies such as college enrollment fees make it possible to relax admission conditions and further expand the enrollment scale of colleges and universities.
Some educators have pointed out that people who have accumulated practical experience after a large number of jobs but have not received university education urgently need to receive formal and systematic higher education to further improve their theoretical level and practical ability. People pay more and more attention to academic qualifications and diplomas, which provides objective needs and social psychological basis for relaxing the conditions for entering the exam.
The annual college entrance examination is coming. The relevant person in charge of the Examination Center of the Education Department of Guangdong Province said in an interview with this reporter that after receiving the official documents from the Ministry of Education, they will step up the formulation of specific implementation measures according to the actual situation in Guangdong Province.
The examination questions need to be reformed, and the training should keep up.
The new policy of expanding the enrollment scope of the college entrance examination will raise new problems and provide new development opportunities for the reform of the education system.
A person in charge of the university admissions office said: It is of course unrealistic for an 80-year-old man to study and test foreign languages like a young man. It is obviously unrealistic for middle-aged people who have been out of school for 20 years to recite a lot of book knowledge like teenagers. This involves how to reform the examination content and design of college entrance examination, that is, how to set up a scientific and reasonable examination system, correctly evaluate the candidates in society, and really provide them with opportunities to go to college.
Educators put forward two suggestions on the reform of college entrance examination. First, reform and unify the college entrance examination questions, from long-term emphasis on memory merit test to ability test; The first is to reform the single college entrance examination model and draw up different examination contents and methods according to different applicants.
Either way, it will bring a series of new changes to the field of education. For example, how does high school education connect with the reform of college entrance examination questions? How to provide pre-test training for a large number of social people who want to go to college but are not in school? It is expected that all kinds of amateur education and cultural cram schools that adapt to this reform will spring up like mushrooms after rain, and a huge educational network covering the whole society will be presented to people.