Additional issues are likely to become part of the debate, such as the closing of small and inefficient colleges, administrative reform and the diversification of funding. Central to the reform is decentralization of fincance and administration and the introduction of market mechanism in the education system. The decentralization has encountered difficulties, partly because of the growing level of disparity, partly because of the failure in some places to establish the necessary infrastructure to support the system. The disparity caused by the market system is equally significant. Decentralization which has brought about autonomy and development has also brought with it disparity which is almost irreversible.
Education is but a microcosm of the larger problem.
The conventional governing mechanism is facing unprecedented challenges. Accompanying this shift of policy away from centralized control are significant changes in patterns of planning, financing and curriculum development. These changes have involved redefinition of the role of national, regional and local governments regarding their functions in education and evolution of new inter-governmental relations in the development and implementation of decentralization policy. China has recently experienced a major education policy transition from a highly centralized system to a more decentralized administrative structure. This research focuses on the shift of decision making power and responsibilities from the central to lower governments and the changes in inter-governmental relations as the decentralized system evolved.