China has a vision of lifelong learning in which information and communication technologies -based (ICTs) distance education and electronic learning are key components. China now has three of the world’s mega-universities, institutions in which over 100,000 students use largely distance learning methods. It hopes its strategy for promoting lifelong learning will be adopted worldwide.

A chapter in a joint publication from the Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO describes how China’s Ministry of Education is actively promoting innovative forms of distance education (DE).

Due to funding constraints only ten percent of school-leavers can be enrolled in colleges or universities and competition for places is intense. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has identified modern distance education (MDE) – the provision of ICTs-based DE using multimedia computer facilities and the Internet – as a fast and cost-effective way to ease the pressure.

This has been made possible by the explosive growth of the Internet and demand for e-commerce, e-publishing, e-advertising and e-entertainment. By the end of 2004 some 94 million people in China were online, almost half of them with broadband access. By the end of 2003 there were 2.3 million enrolments registered for MDE programmes in 68 pilot universities. China has a network of independent radio and television universities (RTVUs) coordinated by the China Central Radio and Television University. Most e-learning institutions work closely with the private sector.

The development of e-learning requires massive investment. The government is providing basic infrastructure and network connections and monitoring quality. Public and private-sector capital will join with the e-learning institutions to develop high quality learning resources. With the introduction of market mechanisms, more learning opportunities should become available for the poorer populations. Some universities have reduced tuition fees for learners in the lower-income western regions of China.

E-learning is playing a key role in meeting demand for higher education, but there are problems:

• Due to the large number of companies competing to develop e-learning systems, there is a need to coordinate technological standards.
• Learners are often isolated and can lack motivation through not being in a learning community.
• Many teachers have poor understanding about e-learning and how to design and conduct ICTs-based courses.
• Infrastructure is often inadequate: some e-learners lack appropriate computers or broadband connections.

E-learning should be presented not as a complete alternative to campus-based formal education, but as one part of a lifelong learning system. If other countries are to learn from the Chinese model they need to accept the vital role of central government in:

• providing ICTs infrastructure, setting technical standards and overseeing accreditation, regulation and standardisation
• encouraging universities to assist each other in their e-learning programmes, sharing research material posted on the Internet and providing access to each other’s courses
• motivating the private sector to invest in e-learning
• training teachers with skills in ICTs-based education
• popularising ICTs-learning by public information campaigns and reassuring students by provision of counseling and mentoring
• ensuring availability to less-developed areas to broaden access between geographical regions and between urban and rural areas.

Source(s):
‘The Chinese Approach’, by Ding Xingfu, Gu Xiaoqing and Zhu Zhiting, pages 63-78, in ‘Perspectives on Distance Education, Lifelong Learning & Distance Higher Education’, Commonwealth of Learning / UNESCO Publishing, edited by Christopher McIntosh and Zeynep Varoglu, 2005 Full document.

Funded by: Commonwealth of Learning

id21 Research Highlight: 28 April 2006

Further Information:
Ding Xingfu
Institute for Distance Education
Capital Normal University
Beijing, China

Contact the contributor: xingfuding@yahoo.com.cn

Capital Normal University, China

Gu Xiaoqing and Zhu Zhiting
Department of Education Information Technology
East China Normal University
Shanghai, China

Contact the contributor: guxq@dec.ecnu.edu.cn

East China Normal University, China

Commonwealth of Learning
1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200
Vancouver, BC
V6E 2E9 Canada

Tel: +1 604.775.8200
Fax: +1 604.775.8210
Contact the contributor: info@col.org

Commonwealth of Learning

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