On the population policy and the development of regular higher education
Controlling population growth is always the key content of the present population policy in China.As the birth rate and the newborn population are declining,the school-age population of regular higher education is also dropping.On the other hand,the regular institutions of higher education have been implementing the enrollment expansion policy since 1999.According to these tendencies,the number of program enrollments will go beyond that of registering for the examination in more than ten years.Thus the enrollment rate will reach one hundred percent.What is worse,the regular institutions will be faced with formidable crises of enrollment and existence.To guarantee the sustainable development of regular higher education,we ought to work out the plans and systems systemically and prospectively as follows: putting into effect the system of twelve-year compulsory education as quickly as possible;carrying forward the system reform of the enrollment;constructing world-class colleges and universities with Chinese characteristics;deepening the macro-management system reform of regular higher education;speeding up the internal-management reform of regular institutions and so forth.