On January 6, the Department of Education of Guangdong Province announced a plan to earmark 460 million yuan in 2025 for vocational education.

The plan is a continuation of a special fund program initially launched in 2019 when Guangdong implemented a three-year action plan to “expand the scale, improve the quality, and strengthen the social service capability” of vocational education.

According to the plan, a total of 400 million yuan will be allocated to 59 higher vocational colleges and universities to help them develop into high-level training bases for skilled talents and technical skills and innovation service providers.

Guangdong Industry Polytechnic University, one of the higher vocational education institutions to be funded (Photo: Nanfang Daily)

Meanwhile, 60 million yuan will go to nine cities, primarily in the less prosperous northern and western regions of Guangdong, to enhance their secondary vocational education, especially by improving teaching conditions and facilities and increasing student enrollment.

The plan also set its targets that by the end of 2025, the province is expected to have approximately 45 provincial high-level higher vocational institutions and around 300 provincial high-level vocational programs. As for secondary vocational education, it is expected that economically underdeveloped regions will have around 40 provincial-level high-quality schools, along with approximately 120 provincial-level exemplary programs.