Contextualised Admission: Does Province-Based Quota Policy Improve Geographical HE Equity in China?

Tan, Yiyi; Riddle, Sharon; Bhatia, Priyanka

Abstract

HE geographical equity is a significant societal problem in China. As the primary admission policy, Province-based Quota Policy has been implemented to ameliorate geographical disparity in HE admission. However, the contribution of this improvement is controversial. In order to evaluate this melioration, this study conducted a secondary data analysis of the latest admissions of all regular Higher Education Institutions (hereafter, HEIs) and HEIs in the World Double-First project in China through three indexes. The study found that provincial disparities in HE admission exist. Both regular HEIs and prestigious HEIs show more preferences to students from well-developed provinces, while less places in HE are prepared for those from inland, remote and under-developed provinces. The implications of this study for future policy making and implementation should be more balanced quota distributions and more educational investment in disadvantaged areas.

Citation

Tan, Y., Riddle, S., & Bhatia, P. (2021). Contextualised Admission: Does Province-Based Quota Policy Improve Geographical HE Equity in China?. In Imagining Better Education: Conference Proceedings 2020 (151-180)

• Conference Name: Imagining Better Education 2020
• Conference Location: Durham, England
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 4, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 4, 2021
• Pages: 151-180
• Series Title: Imagining Better Education
• Book Title: Imagining Better Education: Conference Proceedings 2020
• Publisher URL: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/education/