China's higher education soars: 75 years of remarkable growth

陈小将

The higher education in China has achieved remarkable development over the past 75 years, with a great leap in the scale of both universities and students.

In 1949, China had only 205 higher education institutions, with a gross enrollment rate of just 0.26 percent. The total number of students enrolled in universities was fewer than 120,000. Last year, there were 3,074 universities and 47.6 million college students, and the gross enrollment rate had soared to 60.2 percent.

Unlike 75 years ago, getting into a university is no longer a distant dream for the majority of Chinese people.

Meanwhile, education has emerged as a powerful driver for implementing major national strategies and fostering the nation's socioeconomic development.

China has continuously advanced education reform and development, aligning it with national strategies, to serve the achievement of the Chinese path to modernization.