Vocational Education Thriving

Vocational Education Thriving

During the year 2018， China had about 11，700 vocational schools nationwide， with around 9.3 million new students enrolled and 26.9 million students at school， the Ministry of Education disclosed recently.

Figures from the ministry showed that among the schools， 10，300 were secondary vocational schools， and 1，418 were advanced vocational schools. The average employment rate of secondary vocational school graduates has exceeded 95 percent for 10 consecutive years， and that of advanced vocational school graduates was more than 90 percent six months after graduation.

As a key source of human resources for Chinas economic development， according to the ministrys report， vocational schools have contributed to more than 70 percent of the new workforce in the countrys manufacturing and emerging industries.

To integrate industry and education， as well as schools and enterprises， China has built 56 supervisory committees for vocational education and 1，400 vocational education groups， with over 30，000 participating companies.

China and India Lead in the Greening of the Earth

A recent study by NASA published in the journal Nature Sustainability revealed that the two countries with the worlds biggest populations are responsible for the largest increase in green foliage.

Recent satellite data （2000–2017） reveals that one third of the global vegetated area is greening and five percent is browning. The greening is prominently clustered in seven regions spread across six continents — most notably in China and India， which together account for nearly one third of the observed total net increase in green leaf area globally （China 25 percent and India 6.8 percent）. China alone accounts for one quarter of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6 percent of the global vegetated area. The greening in China comes from forests（42 percent） and croplands （32 percent）.

The study noticed that China is engineering ambitious programs to conserve and expand forests with the goal of mitigating land degradation， air pollution， and climate change.

Ten Measures to Improve Livelihoods

The Ministry of Civil Affairs unveiled at a recent press conference 10 policies and measures to be taken this year to improve livelihoods.

The ministry will guide local civil affairs authorities to strengthen temporary assistance， helping it play a better role in guaranteeing basic living standards and relieving emergencies. It will step up efforts in developing a nursing system for impoverished people with serious disabilities to improve their quality of life. It will increase the transparency of trust in charitable organizations， and mobilize and encourage more social forces to participate in poverty alleviation. It will roll out a three-year campaign on governance of urban and rural communities， and improve public services at the village level. It will also advance lawmaking on the registration and management of social organizations. Other measures target aid given to vagrants and beggars and the protection of their rights and interests， regulation and supervision of the funeral and internment sector， and better care and protection of children at the primary level.

Rate of Breastfeeding in China Declined to 30 Percent

The rate of breastfeeding of infants under six months old in China is 29.2 percent， according to a recent survey by the China Development Research Foundation.

The survey， conducted between September 2017 and January 2018 among over 10，000 mothers with infant children across the country， also found that only 11.3 percent of the participants breastfed their children within an hour after birth. The World Health Organization recommended that infants be breastfed within an hour after birth and continue to be breastfed until they are six months old.

Fang Jin， deputy secretary general of the foundation， attributed the low rate of breastfeeding to easy access to breast milk substitutes and the misleading advertising of such products. The lack of public awareness as well as deficiency of support from family and social communities， including medical institutions， are also contributing reasons to the declining number of mothers who choose to breastfeed their children， said Fang.

The report called for measures to be taken to raise public awareness， encourage medical care institutions to provide support and improve the legislation for maternity leave and a childbirth insurance system.