What does the expansion of master’s degree enrollment in 2020 mean? What is the reason for the expansion? Attached are relevant policies!

Recently, relevant officials from the Ministry of Education made it clear that the enrollment scale of master's degree programs will be expanded in 2020, which may increase by 189,000 people compared with last year. So, what does the expansion of master’s degree enrollment mean? What is the reason for the expansion? What are the relevant policies ?

What does the expansion of master’s degree enrollment mean?

According to the Ministry of Education, there are about 440,000 graduate supervisors and 12,000 master's degree-awarding points in the country. In recent years, more than 2,000 new master's degree-awarding points have been added to increase the training capacity and carrying capacity.

According to Weng Tiehui, there are 8.74 million graduates from regular colleges and universities across the country this year. The employment pressure is already quite high, and the impact of the sudden epidemic has increased the employment pressure on graduates. The Ministry of Education will work with relevant departments to make every effort to broaden employment channels, increase opportunities for further education, and provide precise guidance services.

What is the reason for the expansion of master’s degree enrollment?

Regarding the expansion of graduate enrollment this year, Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, analyzed that the reasons for the expansion are based on two considerations: first, the number of applicants has increased year by year, but the number of admissions is insufficient in comparison, and the competition for admission is too fierce; second, the employment issue, especially this year due to the impact of the epidemic, the employment environment for graduates is not optimistic.

According to the "Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development in 2019" recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics, 917,000 students were enrolled in postgraduate education in 2019. Based on this calculation, after the expansion, the scale of graduate student enrollment this year may reach 1.1 million.

What are the policies related to expanding the enrollment of master’s students?

The expansion of enrollment has a focus, and the country is in urgent need of talents in these majors

Of course, there are also certain focuses in expanding enrollment. According to the Ministry of Education, the expansion of enrollment must ensure the quality of postgraduate education, while focusing on universities in the central and western regions and the northeast region.

According to reports, the increase in graduate student programs will focus on majors such as clinical medicine, public health, integrated circuits, and artificial intelligence, and will focus on professional degree training, with a focus on high-level professional degrees for applied talents.

Weng Tiehui previously explained that which professions to focus on depends on social demand, and the investment will mainly be in areas that are urgently needed to serve national strategies and social livelihood, and these areas are currently in great need of talent.

Regarding these policies to expand enrollment, Chu Zhaohui also believes that the expansion did not adopt a flood-like approach, but rather a precise allocation. The number of places for enrollment in some key areas, especially in the field of public health, has been increased, which is directly related to the current epidemic.

"The tendency to expand enrollment reflects the current national economic development's demand for talent in the fields of medical health, basic scientific research, and artificial intelligence." Wu Rui, an expert at the Haitian Education Examination Research Center, explained that the steady economic development and structural transformation have put forward an urgent demand for the cultivation of high-level talents, while also placing high demands on candidates to improve their competitiveness.