ABSTRACT
The domination of free-market economies, predominance of supranational institutions, and formation of a consumer culture across the globe, in addition to rising costs of public services in general and the evolution of knowledge-based economy, have all contributed to dramatic changes in the character and function of higher education around the world. The classical Chinese education was based on Confucian ideas in the form Sishu, which was focused on moral teaching, history and writing, while mathematics and science were barely taught. With the implementation of the open-door policy in the 1970s, Premier Deng Xiaoping proclaimed a reorientation of higher education to meet the needs of modernization. In this system, all universities are placed in a steep hierarchy, which developed gradually through the national programs. Hence, since the implementation of the Reform and Opening-up policies, a series of reforms has been conducted to move the higher education sector from a unified, centralized and closed system to one that allows openness and diversification.
