Expansion of Chinese higher education since 1998: Its causes and outcomes

This paper examines an important development in Chinese higher education in the late 1990s and early 2000s, namely, its radical expansion of enrollment starting from 1998. After a brief review of the related literature on educational expansion, the paper analyzes the higher education expansion in China in detail. The paper argues that a variety of factors have led to the enrollment expansion, including the expectation to stimulate domestic consumption and to ease the immediate pressure on the labor market, the high public interest in and demand for higher education in Chinese society, and the political will of the Chinese government to develop higher education. The outcomes of the enrollment expansion are also examined. The paper argues that the expected short term impact of enrollment expansion on Chinese economy is not warranted by reality. Enrollment expansion has also put pressures on Chinese higher education to further reform its structure, curricula, and administration. More importantly, enrollment expansion has brought the issue of equity to the front.