Overview of Education in Zhejiang

Zhejiang people have long been worshipping the farming-reading tradition, respecting culture and education as always. The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government consistently prioritize the development of education. Under the background of building Zhejiang Province into a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-level development, the province follows the guideline to create a golden card of "High Quality Learning in Zhejiang ". We have been fully implementing the strategy of education modernization and the strategy of building a powerful province in higher education. We have also been continuously improving the level of talent cultivation, the ability to serve economic and social development, and the sense of people’s growing fulfillment, which lays a solid foundation for building a strong province through education. By the end of 2021, the number of schools at all levels has reached 14,000 in Zhejiang Province, with 10.625 million students and 918,000 teaching staff. The overall development level of education takes a leading position in China, and the education popularization index ranks among the top in the whole nation, reaching the average level of high-income countries.

New progress has been made in education modernization. The level of universal access to preschool education has been greatly improved, and the number of children enrolled in generally beneficial kindergartens accounts for 91.03% of all preschool children in the province. Compulsory education enjoys high quality and balanced development, and the difference coefficient of inter school running conditions is 0.27. Haiyan County and Jiangbei District have been accredited as the first batch of counties with high-quality and balanced compulsory education nationwide (currently there are only two such counties in China). A series of documents have been released to strengthen sports, aesthetic, and labor education, as well as education evaluation reform in the new era. The excellent rate of students' physical health monitoring remains No.1 in China for five consecutive years. The strategy on developing high-quality higher education is in full swing, with 23 disciplines of 3 universities included in the national "Double World-class" Plan (which means building world-class universities and world-class disciplines). 15 universities and 27 universities are authorized to award doctoral degree and master’s degree respectively in the province. West Lake University was successfully founded and started the pilot programs including comprehensive reform of doctoral education and the “Undergraduate Innovation Class”. The overall level of vocational education remains at the forefront. 15 higher vocational colleges have been included in  the national "Double High" Plan (which aims to develop high-level vocational colleges and high-level majors), ranking the top among the first batch of provinces and municipalities. In 2020, the Ministry of Education and Zhejiang Province signed an MOU to build Wenzhou & Taizhou vocational education innovation highland. The payment of teachers has been improved year by year. In all 90 counties (cities, districts), the annual income per capita of teachers in compulsory education section is guaranteed not lower than that of local civil servants. A powerhouse of talents has been established preliminary, with 75.3% of the academicians of the two academies and 67.6% of the Kunpeng plan talents in the province gathered in higher education institutions.

The reform and opening up unleash new vitality. The "Double Eases" initiative which targets at easing the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students in compulsory education section, has achieved outstanding results. 8107 for-profit discipline training institutions in the province have been reduced by 100%, and 100% of primary and secondary schools carry out after-school services. The reform of examination and enrollment is conducted in a stable and orderly manner. All primary and junior secondary schools have fully realized "admission to schools nearby without entrance examination" and "simultaneous enrollment of public and private schools ". The reform of education evaluation has been further implemented, leading Zhejiang Province as one of the first six pilot provinces in China. "Internet + education" has been developed in depth, the brand of "learning in Zhejiang" echoes in a sound way, "Zhijianghui" digital education resource square keeps on upgrading, and the informatization development index of basic education has been ranking first in China for five consecutive years. Education internationalization in Zhejiang Province gets fueled through high quality and efficiency. Currently, 22 Chinese-foreign collaborative education institutions are in operation, 29 "Silk Road colleges" in 26 countries are launched by 22 higher education institutions, and the first overseas Chinese school at basic education level, the Chinese school Dubai, has been successfully established. In February 2022, Zhejiang Province and the Ministry of Education signed an MOU to jointly advance the construction of the common prosperity demonstration zone through high-quality development of education in the province. Taking this opportunity, the two sides bravely shoulder the mission, deepen the cooperation, strengthen the collaboration, and strive to create a number of landmark achievements, thus to provide a provincial demonstration model for high-quality development and high-level modernization of education in China.