On January 3, 2024, the "China-World Higher Education Trends Report (2023)" released by the Max Institute revealed the new challenges facing China's higher education. The report points out that as of 2023, education departments in many places have begun to require control of the new distribution of education majors in colleges and universities. At the same time, the forecast of 2035 by the research team of Beijing Normal University has attracted widespread attention, and it is estimated that there will be a surplus of about 1.5 million primary school teachers and 370,000 junior high school teachers in the country.
Adjustment of major structure: Colleges and universities strictly control "overheated" majors
With the deepening of the structural adjustment of China's higher education disciplines, in March 2023, the "Reform Plan for the Adjustment and Optimization of the Discipline Majors of General Higher Education" was officially released, stipulating that by 2025, colleges and universities across the country will optimize and adjust about 20% of the distribution of disciplines and majors.
Education departments in many places responded to this
First, the relevant documents on the adjustment of majors in colleges and universities were promulgated, and the requirements for the setting of majors were clarified. The Sichuan Provincial Department of Education encourages colleges and universities to open emerging majors such as artificial intelligence and quantum information, while emphasizing strict control over the new distribution of arts, education and management majors. Other provinces, such as Jiangxi, Fujian, Shandong, etc., have also issued relevant documents to clarify the control measures for some "overheating" professions.
Teacher majors are "cooling": education majors are restricted
In the past two years, the "teaching fever" has triggered an upsurge of "teacher fever", but according to the report released by the Max Research Institute, many provinces and cities have begun to take the initiative to "cool down" education majors in the dynamic adjustment of majors.
In the 2021 notice, the Ministry of Education proposed to "strictly control the setting of art majors", and in 2023, the documents in many places are clearer and control the new distribution of education majors. The document jointly issued by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education stipulates that non-normal colleges and universities will no longer establish new education majors in principle. Shandong Province, Jiangxi Province and other places have also put forward clear requirements for the new establishment of education majors in relevant documents.
Education majors may face a surplus: risks emerge in 2035
The Max Research Institute's report predicts that by 2035, the country will face a surplus of about 1.5 million primary school teachers and 370,000 junior high school teachers.
The strict control of the restructuring of the professional structure and the restrictions on the education profession indicate that the education profession may face a surplus of the job market. Majors such as preschool education and early education are listed as the scope of control, and the education department has put forward clear restrictions on the new establishment of education majors in the document. Educational institutions, students and their parents need to look at future employment prospects more rationally, and pay more attention to market demand when choosing majors to avoid the uncertainty of future employment.
Epilogue:
In the field of higher education, the restructuring of professional structures aims to better meet the needs of society and avoid excessive concentration in certain "hot" professional fields. The cooling of education majors may provide students with more choices, but also remind all sectors of society to pay attention to the changes in the job market, guide students to choose majors more scientifically, and ensure that future career development is more rewarding.