The State Council issued the Education Development "15th Five-Year" Plan,
directing a quality-led expansion of higher education and a geographic tilt of
new resources toward populous provinces, China’s central and western regions,
and ethnic minority areas. The plan backs capacity increases at Double
First-Class universities, including new campuses, and aims to boost
undergraduate admissions by more than 100,000. It calls for building several new
research-oriented universities and orderly expansion of undergraduate and
graduate intake, prioritizing engineering, science, agriculture and medical
disciplines. The document mandates improvements to basic campus facilities,
including student dormitories, encourages repurposing idle school buildings
across stages, strengthens teacher staffing and allocation for primary/secondary
schools and kindergartens, and requires a school-age population forecasting and
early-warning mechanism. It also directs expanded education supply in cities
with net inflows and areas with weak basic education and optimizes admissions
plans to support rural revitalization; small-class teaching will be advanced
where appropriate.
