Guidelines to boost continuing education

Universities urged to focus on advanced fields such as AI and green development

The Ministry of Education has released this year's guidelines for managing continuing education programs and off-campus teaching sites, emphasizing the need to align talent cultivation with national strategies and market demands.

"Higher education institutions should make continuing education an integral part of their talent cultivation and social service system," the guidelines state. "Institutions should fully consider their educational positioning and academic strength, as well as market demands and the employment competitiveness of disciplines. They should also thoroughly justify the need for new programs before opening them and continuously optimize the structures of such programs."

Continuing education is a parallel track to China's regular higher education system, which consists of full-time, campus-based study for recent high school graduates who have passed the national college entrance exam, or gaokao. Continuing education, by contrast, offers full-time or part-time programs designed for adults seeking to upgrade their skills or qualifications. It includes online education, adult education, the higher education self-study test and open education.