China's Long Distance Higher Education.

http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/broadcast/tv-02.html.

China: Its Distance Higher Education System.

In China radio and television are the main media used for delivering teaching programmes in China's distance higher education system. China had the first television universities in the 1960s. From the period 1960 to 1966 more then 8,000 students graduated from the Beijing Television University. In 1976 China entered a new historical period. In 1975 the enrolement rate in China's higher education was less then 2 percent, whereas in other developing countries the rate was over 4 percent. By 1990 China's total work force was expected to reach 104 million. Such a big task of training so many people could not be filled solely on colleges and universities with such a short time scale.

The central radio and Television University was set up in Beijing after that 28 more were set up, 279 prefectual branches were set up and 625 work stations were created. These were created in towns, cities and districtsof rural areas. Radio and television universities are run at five levels corresponding to organizations of China's system of national and regional governments. CRTVU at the highest level, PTVU at the second and the third level branch schools.

The CRTVU makes long term plans for the development of teh TVU system. Its teaching plans are to be carried out nationally and programmes are to be broadcast nationwide. It develops and publishes learning matierial producing audio and visual cassettes for courses offered nationally.
PTVUs produce and transmit teaching programmes made by the CRTVU. They produce programmes for regional use, develop teaching matierials and conduct distance teaching matierials and conduct distance education research and exchange experiences with others.
Branch schools guide teaching administration of work stations and television classes directly attached to them. They organise television classes and guide their management, distribute learning matierials and organise tutorials, laboratory work and field studies.
Television classes administer teaching and ;earning classes, draw up time tables and organise viewing and listening of teaching programmes. China's radio and television universities at five levels share their responsibilities on balancing centralization and decentralization with thhe CTVU of their centre.

The CRTVU has offered 150 causes in subject areas. Work stations and television classes may organise special courses to suit the needs of work units. The TVU courses are multimedia consisting of radio, television programmes for science and engineering courses is greater than that of other media. Audio and video cassettes are in some cous
rses to make up for the transmission time and to provide conveniant access for distance learners. Radio and television teaching programmes are to a large extent a direct transcription of conventional university class room teaching. Up to 1983, radio and television programmes have been produced by the central people's radio station and Central China Television. More and more audio visual teaching. Programmes have been produced by the CRTVU and PTVUs.

Face to face tuition is also avaliable to students. Tutoring is necessary as presenters of radio and television cannot answer questions directly and registered students are organised into television classes. Television image and radio sound may not be clear for technical reasons. TVUs target students are in service with adults secondary school graduates and young school leavers waiting to be assigned jobs. Young people must pass the adult entrance admission. Since TVUs were open students have been increased. In service adult students can study full time and school leavers can choose their mode of study. Full time sudents must finish studies in two or three years. After graduation, in service students are recognised as having equivalent status to that of conventional college graduates. They assigned new jobs in their original work. they recieve the same salary as conventional college graduates.

The TVU systems budget comes form a variety of sources. District/county work stations are funded by education bureau of foal governments and system works are financialy supported by respective system. Television clasees run by work units get the finanacial support form factories, shops, goverments, bureux and television classes run by TVUs at various levels. It has been estimated that an average one third of the cost can be served.

China's radio and television university system has made great strides in the last ten years. A large number of TVU graduates have become technical engineers who are badly needed in the industry. Courses specializing in politics, law, economics, management, ournalism and library science have helped improve irrational curricular arrangement. Research on distance eduacation should be strengthened or the TVU system cannot operate well. China's radio and television universities were initiated at the beginning of the 1960s suspended for 10 years and carried on in the 1970s. The Chinese government have attached a great importance to the development of radio and television universities.