ABSTRACT
The choice of the two keywords 'quality' and 'equality' as essential elements for a descriptive-analytical study of Chinese higher education has by no means been made accidentally. When the Chinese Communists came to power in 1949 they quickly tried to transform the educational heritage left by the Nationalist Government and the period of the anti-Japanese war. The management of the new system was characterised by the fact that there was no central leading organ responsible for higher education. The majority of the Chinese political leadership seem to have accepted the view that education, and especially higher education, must be viewed as a productive force, instead of taking the view that it only belongs to the superstructure of society. Great efforts have been made to increase the share of higher education in the state budget for education. The imbalance between economic demand and higher education is exacerbated by failure to assign appropriate work posts.
