What are the main tasks and characteristics of the key elements reform in vocational education teaching? Ministry of Education's answer

Recently, the Ministry of Education issued the “Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Key Elements in Vocational Education Teaching” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). The head of the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education answered questions from reporters regarding the “Opinions.”

1. Question: What is the background for the issuance of the “Opinions”?

The unique value of vocational education lies in cultivating highly skilled talents. Key teaching elements such as majors, courses, textbooks, teachers, and internships are crucial factors affecting the quality of high-skilled talent development. The “Outline of the Construction Plan for a Strong Education Nation (2024-2035)” proposes to implement reforms in key elements of vocational education, systematically advancing reforms in majors, courses, textbooks, teachers, and internships. Currently, there are issues such as a mismatch between vocational education talent training and industry, economy, and social development, as well as relatively closed and less adaptable school operations. To address this, in April 2025, the Ministry of Education launched the “High-Skilled Talent Cluster Training Program,” selecting six fields with significant skill talent gaps within national key industries such as new energy vehicles, to systematically promote linked reforms of teaching key elements.

Pilot reforms have explored many effective practices, accumulated valuable experience, and created demonstration models. The “Opinions” aim to institutionalize these experiences, organize nationwide reforms of key teaching elements, shift talent development from traditional knowledge transfer to comprehensive ability enhancement, promote the leap of the vocational education system, and transform high-skilled talent cultivation from a small scene into a landscape, thereby forming an ecosystem.

2. Question: Please introduce the process of developing the “Opinions”.

The development of the “Opinions” took over a year and involved several stages: First, through on-site visits, forums, and other methods, research was conducted on the reform of professional teaching with relevant industry authorities, provincial education departments, national city-region industry-education alliances, and industry-education integration communities, to understand the current situation, identify problems, and analyze opinions. Second, a careful summary of the progress and experience of the High-Skilled Talent Cluster Training Program was made, focusing on prominent issues and root causes, and proposing systematic reform measures to determine the main content of the document. Third, broad soliciting of opinions was conducted among some provincial education departments, industry enterprises, and vocational colleges, with relevant suggestions incorporated.

3. Question: What are the main contents of the “Opinions”?

The “Opinions” are divided into four parts: overall requirements, main tasks, improving reform mechanisms, and strengthening organizational implementation.

The first part, overall requirements, clarifies the guiding ideology, basic principles, and main goals of reforming key teaching elements. It emphasizes implementing the fundamental task of moral education, focusing on national strategies, regional development, industrial upgrading, technological iteration, and comprehensive human development. It firmly grasps the functional positioning of high-skilled talent cultivation, adhering to the principles of demand-driven, cluster promotion, coordinated reform, and standard-led development. By 2027, an advanced standard system for majors, courses, textbooks, teachers, and internships, along with new paradigms of teaching reform, will be established; by 2035, a Chinese-characteristic vocational education practical model will be formed.

The second part, main tasks, focuses on five key areas based on new circumstances, requirements, and existing problems: First, dynamically adjusting majors—ensuring they are “real,” with specific measures for coordinating adjustments, adding new majors, phasing out excess ones, and upgrading existing ones. Second, scientifically designing course combinations—making courses “new,” with plans for developing new courses, upgrading existing ones, and building course capability maps, as well as strengthening ideological and political elements and general education courses. Third, optimizing textbook presentation—making textbooks “lively,” with mechanisms for developing and organizing textbooks, promoting diverse formats, developing industry-specific textbooks, and expanding high-quality textbooks for students in vocational schools, applied universities, enterprise training, international projects, and social learners. Fourth, refining teacher capability lists—making teachers’ skills “high,” based on new requirements for courses and textbooks, with detailed capability standards, evaluations, targeted training, dual mobility mechanisms between teachers and industry talents, industry mentor systems, and strengthening digital literacy. Fifth, building industry-education integrated internship and training bases—ensuring internships are “real,” with guidance on establishing bases through enterprise entrustment, school-enterprise co-construction, cluster joint construction, developing standards, and funding sources for regional industry-education integration centers. Additionally, each main task section specifies concrete, practical, and checklist-based tasks for units such as “One Body, Two Wings” construction entities and “Double High” schools, promoting policy support and resource guarantees.

The third part, improving reform mechanisms, includes: First, implementing the High-Skilled Talent Cluster Training Program at national, provincial, and vocational school levels, emphasizing integration with the “Double High” construction plan, city-region industry-education alliances, and industry-education communities. Second, establishing a “Three Leaders” organizational mechanism, requiring localities and schools to form reform teams led by top enterprises, high-level schools, and industry organizations. Third, creating a linked reform mechanism for key teaching elements, clarifying the internal logical relationships among majors, courses, textbooks, teachers, and internships, and promoting systemic reform. Fourth, improving mechanisms for opening and transforming enterprise technological resources—advocating for the “three openness” of standards, production resources, and occupational scenarios from leading enterprises, aligning professional teaching with technological development, and exploring mutually beneficial cooperation models.

The fourth part, strengthening organizational implementation, requires local education authorities, city-region industry-education alliances, industry-education communities, vocational schools, and social publicity to fulfill specific responsibilities.

4. Question: What are the main features of the “Opinions”?

Since the Ministry of Education issued the “Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Vocational Education Teaching to Fully Improve Talent Training Quality” in 2015, this is a new important document for vocational education reform. It reflects a vivid practice of viewing education from a broader perspective and following educational laws, with the following main features:

First, firmly grasping the positioning of high-skilled talent cultivation. The “Opinions” focus on national strategies, regional priorities, industrial upgrades, technological iteration, and comprehensive human development, starting from the “small” aspects of key teaching elements. By targeting these elements—professional settings, course development, textbook construction, teacher capacity, and internships—it aims to solidify the foundation of vocational education, continuously cultivate master craftsmen and high-skilled talents, and highlight the unique value of vocational education.

Second, fully activating the intrinsic “genes” of enterprise-led vocational education. The “Opinions” innovates industry-education integration mechanisms, strengthens local government coordination, and stimulates enterprise motivation through the “Three Leaders” reform mechanism, promoting enterprises to open standards, production resources, and occupational scenarios, translating industry standards into educational and talent standards, and achieving synchronized development of professional teaching and industry. It also promotes enterprise talent cultivation, standard promotion, and ecosystem expansion to enhance enterprise participation.

Third, systematically advancing linked reform of key teaching elements. The “Opinions” breaks away from isolated reforms and simple imitation of general education models, taking majors as the foundation, courses as the core, and textbooks as the link, following industry segments, production processes, and occupational logic. It promotes comprehensive, whole-process, and systemic reform aligned with industry upgrades and technological iteration, reconstructs course systems based on professional needs, develops new textbook formats, refines teacher capabilities, and builds industry-education integrated internship bases, creating replicable and promotable new paradigms of teaching reform.

5. Question: How to ensure the effective implementation of the “Opinions”?

First, provincial education authorities should lead the formulation of specific implementation plans, integrating reform results into school assessments, funding allocation, and project selection systems; deepen evaluations of industry-enterprise participation and high-skilled talent training quality; establish evaluation standards covering majors, courses, textbooks, teachers, and internships; incorporate reform tasks into national and regional development plans and industrial layouts, and actively seek support through projects and funding.

Second, city-region industry-education alliances and industry-education communities should leverage resource integration advantages, organize member units to focus on deepening reforms of key teaching elements, and improve operational efficiency and construction quality. They should strengthen regional industry and industry-specific resource coordination, optimize industry-education platforms, and produce replicable, scalable practical results.

Third, vocational schools should regard reform of key teaching elements as a core task, fully integrating it into overall school development. “Double High” schools should play a demonstrative role, focusing on building high-level professional groups that serve and support the school’s development.

Fourth, all regions and vocational schools should promptly summarize exemplary experiences and innovative practices, strengthen publicity and promotion, and actively create a supportive atmosphere for reform and advancement.

(Reporter: Gao Chenyuan, CCTV)