Does it fit? , overly praising the “counterattack” of vocational high schools
Recently, the story of a girl from a vocational high school in Zhejiang who became a graduate student at a double first-class university in 9 years has attracted attention. Many media have not hesitated to praise her and made many follow-up reports using the keyword "counterattack".
Looking back on the girl's education path, she indeed showed extraordinary perseverance - after failing to achieve satisfactory results in the high school entrance examination, she entered a vocational high school, and later passed two college entrance examinations before entering a vocational college. Pass the college-to-undergraduate examination to become an undergraduate, and pass the postgraduate examination to start a new stage of study. From the perspective of individual struggle, the girl's consistent persistence is indeed worthy of praise. But for vocational education, is this a "gorgeous counterattack" worth advocating?
In recent years, national and local governments at all levels have introduced a series of policies and measures aimed at promoting the development of vocational education. Judging from market data, the employment rate of vocational education graduates has remained at a high level in recent years. In 2023, the employment rate of my country's higher vocational graduates will reach 98.34%, which is much higher than the employment rate of fresh graduates from prestigious Chinese universities.
But even so, society generally holds an "inferior" prejudice against vocational education. Most students and parents regard vocational colleges as a helpless choice after failing to score enough in the test. The resulting reality is that some students work hard after entering vocational schools, hoping to pass the college entrance examination and continue on the road to general higher education; there are also some students who give up on themselves after entering vocational schools, live in confusion, and fall asleep early.
The original intention of vocational education is to provide students with professional skills and career preparation through education, so that they can meet the needs of society and the market. Although some vocational high school students who are interested in doing professional research can continue to enter college through their own efforts, taking the college entrance examination and taking the graduate entrance examination should not become a common "counterattack" pursuit of vocational high school students. This is also to improve the public's recognition of vocational education. Further resolve the key issue of equal status between vocational education and general education.
In the past few years, the country has introduced some policies to rectify the name of vocational education, but "parents' disapproval, society's prejudice, and providers' grievances" are still the realities that vocational education has to face. How to change vocational schools to become the second choice for those who lose in the competition for high school and college entrance examinations? Overseas vocational education may have something to learn from. According to reports, more than half of students in Germany will take the initiative to choose vocational schools. There is no distinction between vocational education and general education. There is also a complete dual-track educational accommodation mechanism behind it. Some vocational schools in Europe have one less academic system than ordinary universities. Years later, tuition fees are higher and employment benefits are better.
In essence, when scores are no longer a means of diversion from vocational high school students, vocational high school students can also have a good future, which can truly enhance the social recognition of vocational education. So, is it possible to add vocational enlightenment education to our basic education stage to guide students and parents to realize their children's own characteristics and interests, so that they can make active career choices based on their individual interests and abilities?
Of course, my country's current vocational education also needs to be reformed, and efforts must be made to provide high-quality vocational teaching. By answering questions such as "how to avoid duplication and low-level imitation with research universities", we must explore the characteristics of vocational education. To attract students, train students, and provide high-quality talents to the country.
In May 2022, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security introduced the "new eight-level worker" system. On the basis of the existing "five-level", the lower limit will be increased to apprentices, and the upper limit will be added to special technicians and chief technicians, requiring the remuneration system to be directly aligned with the standard. Senior professional titles and corporate executives. In the past few decades, vocational education has also provided a large number of professional talents for China's economic and social development. In the face of high-quality development requirements, China's gap in high-skilled talents will continue to expand, and structural employment conflicts will still be highlighted. This will change the stereotype of "inferiority" in vocational education. The impression should become the general consensus of society.
We want to applaud the individual efforts of Zhejiang girls, and we also look forward to applauding those vocational school students who "do not want to go to college and are willing to be technical talents." An ideal society should be filled with stories of “all roads leading to Rome” rather than simply marveling at stories of “counterattacks”.
