# Challenges for the vocational education

The expansion in TVET enrollment may not necessarily be associated with increased educational quality and relevance. Based on a study conducted in 118 schools located in a province in central China, Yi et al. (2018) found that 90 percent of students do not show gains in vocational or general skills and 60 percent of students expressed dissatisfaction with their programs. While the skills assessment and sampling methods can always be improved, this study suggests sizable gaps in the quality and relevance of the vocational programs delivered at the upper secondary level. Specifically, the challenges can be described in the following five dimensions.

- **Link between schools and industry.** Some of the schools lack industrial guidance on the skills in need. In consequence, some skills demanded by the labor market are not offered by the schools’ education programs, for example, the lack of mechanical skills training offered for vehicle powered by new energy and the lack of training provided for the application of silicon materials. Due also to the low levels of industrial link, fragmentation and repetition are common among schools. Some of the popular training subjects are delivered in many schools and cause redundancy and low efficiency.

- **Teaching quality.** Many of the teachers are from pure educational background and lack necessary industrial experience. As a result, there is a lack of teachers with both technical and teaching qualification for the level of training they are providing.

- **School management.** Schools need to set up or update their school charters and regulations in accordance with the priorities highlighted in the 13th FYP (2016–2020). As some of the schools are recently merged and upgraded, there is also a need to review their management and personnel arrangement. Extracurricular activities need to be expanded to provide more services for students.

- **Curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.** The curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment mechanisms are generally not competence based. This is due partially to the lack of good national standards. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) standards are widely regarded as being outdated and lacking relevance. The MOE standards are prone to be theoretical and do not fully reflect real competencies required in practice. At the school level, the lack of school-industry link also determines that little is done by the schools to complement the standards set up by the government. As a result, the training does not cater to the skills the students need for their future work.

- **School facilities and equipment.** Many schools require additional space for practical training and classroom instruction. Some of the new skills offered also require a new set of equipment for hands-on practice.

The quality concerns are compounded by the relatively high cost of attending school, especially for rural students. One key barrier of expansion can be the opportunity cost particularly faced by the rural populations in the form of foregone urban wages if they migrate. Brauw and Giles (2017) find that low-skill jobs in urban areas that pay well relative to nonagricultural employment in migrant hometowns raise the opportunity cost of high school for middle school graduates. Further, the high cost of enrolling the children of migrants in urban schools frequently leads parents to either leave children behind with grandparents or to bring them to cities and educate them in 36