Recently, BCU President Liu Lin, also the National Educational Inspector, Chinese Vocational Educational Association Standing Director, has been interviewed by influential media including CCTV and Sina Weibo, on the newly revised Vocational Education Law of the People's Republic of China.
He pointed out that although BCU has become an application-oriented university for a long time, mainly with undergraduate and professional master education, it still pays much attention to development of vocational education and has in-depth exchanges and cooperation with many vocational colleges. In the middle 1990s, BCU took the lead in carrying out the pilot program of higher vocational education in China. In recent years, it has vigorously carried out a seven-year training program for high-level skilled students, and achieved fruitful results. The cultivation concept-“new vocational education” and the school-running philosophy-“professional vocational education” explored by BCU through long-term practice have all been adopted in the revised Vocational Education Law.
In Beijing and the national “Two Sessions”, President Liu Lin called for many times that it is the backward vocational education, not the vocational education that parents and students do not need. Vocational education must take the initiative to adapt to the change of social demand, and change the backward concept of “putting skills over quality”. Periodic employment is not the single training goal. Instead, we should pay more attention to student sustainable development. On the basis of strengthening moral education, we aim to cultivate studetns in five aspects synchronously-scientific research capacity, cultural literacy, professional ethics, skill level, and social ability. Modern vocational education must be a new type of education, being attractive to students, and having important contribution to the society.
After the promulgation of the New Vocational Education Law, CCTV immediately interviewed President Liu Lin.
As a guest in Sina Weibo and Tencent News broadcast room, President Liu said, “The newly revised Vocational Education Law has amended the idea of ‘separated development of general education and vocational education’ to ‘coordinated development of general education and vocational education’. Some media have interpreted it as canceling the ‘separated development of general education and vocational education’ after graduation from junior high school, which is a misreading. The Vocational Education Law is to promote the development of vocational education, but the ‘first reaction’ of some parents is whether the separation can be canceled so students can all got to the high schools, which reflects that the current social recognition of vocational education is still low. The vocational education wins high acceptance but low practice, also being the reflection of the unequal treatment of vocational education for a long time.”
He also mentioned that, “If the Vocational Education Law is implemented, it can ease parents’ anxiety. The revision of the Vocational Education Law not only establishes the status of vocational education in principle, but also designs the direction of vocational education: firstly, it promotes the coordinated development of vocational education and general education in the different stages after compulsory education; secondly, it is to promote the coordinated development of complete vocational education system including secondary vocational, higher vocational, undergraduate, master, doctor levels; thirdly, not only vocational colleges but also ordinary universities will carry out higher vocational education, emphasizing the concept of ‘professional vocational education’.”
