{
  "id": 10341436,
  "title": "‘Everyone can attend university’: China unveils sweeping higher education reform",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/everyone-can-attend-university-china-unveils-sweeping-higher-10341436",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-28T02:00:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3368952/everyone-can-attend-university-china-unveils-sweeping-higher-education-reform"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China has introduced a comprehensive reform of its higher education system, urging universities to specialize in distinct roles as societal and economic conditions evolve. Jointly issued by the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, the guidelines stress the need for universities to adapt to shifting school-age demographics, a tightening job market, and ongoing industrial upgrading.\n\nBeijing specifically calls for universities to assume unique roles: high-level research institutions must support major national strategies, while industry-specific universities should bolster their capacity to serve the real economy. Fan Xiudi, director of Shanghai’s Tongji University’s Education Evaluation Research Centre, notes that with the school-age population shrinking, \"everyone will have the opportunity to attend university in the future.\" This transformation requires universities to cultivate diverse strengths and cater to individual aptitudes, as not all students excel academically.\n\nThe central government’s emphasis on diversity in talent development is unprecedented and underscores the urgency of the reform. According to demographic projections, China’s total school-age population will decline rapidly from 328 million in 2021 to around 250 million in 2035, with the university-age demographic peaking in 2032. Meanwhile, access to higher education has expanded significantly over the past 15 years, with more than 48.7 million students enrolled nationwide in 2025, more than doubling the rate from 2012.\n\nTo facilitate this transformation, the 2024-35 education development outline categorizes higher education institutions into research-, applied-, and skills-oriented missions, with management and funding tailored accordingly. Liu Zhentian, a professor at Xiamen University, explains that research universities will focus on training top innovators for China’s scientific and technological self-reliance, while applied universities will address regional development and industry-specific talent needs. Skills-oriented universities aim to cultivate artisans and technical personnel for China’s modern industrial system.\n\nExternal conditions, such as a shrinking population, a tight job market, and industrial upgrading, are fueling these shifts, according to a social media post by Zhang Duanhong and Liu Hong. The guidelines grant universities policy space to proactively adjust to these changes, rather than waiting for a forced transition. This comprehensive reform seeks to ensure a sustainable, adaptable, and responsive higher education system that can meet individual development needs and societal demands in China.",
  "summary": "China has unveiled an overhaul of its university system, urging institutions to develop distinct roles as demographic change, a tighter job market and industrial upgrading alter the country’s skills needs. The general offices of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee as well as the State Council, China’s cabinet, jointly issued guidelines for higher education reform, state news agency…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "‘Everyone can attend university’: China unveils sweeping higher education reform",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/everyone-can-attend-university-china-unveils-sweeping-higher",
        "published": "2026-09-28T02:00:22.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}