学费上涨与高等教育机会公平问题分析——基于结构性和转型性的视角

Tuition Fees and the Equitable Access to Higher Education in China

1997年,中国普通高校在收费制度上进行“并轨”,开始实行全面收费制度。此后,普通高等教育的学费水平迅速上涨,学费占居民家庭收入的比例大幅度提高。学费的快速上涨有可能对高等教育机会公平性产生负面影响。在考虑收入水平、学费水平、高等教育机会公平之间的关系时,现有的研究较多地侧重于微观层面的分析,而对宏观层面的结构性因素和转型性因素的影响探讨不多。本文试图根据有关中国收入分配以及高等教育制度改革的研究,就结构性和转型性因素与高等教育机会公平性之间的关联进行初步的探索。

China's higher education sector has moved from a system of fully free tuitions to a double-track system and then to a single-track system in tuition fee collection since 1997. From then on, the level of tuition fee in China's higher education sector has increased rapidly, and the ratio of tuition fee to the average income of a household has risen quickly too. Such rapid increases in tuition fee may impact negatively equitable access to higher education. In considering the relationships between household income, tuition fee and the equity of higher educational opportunity, current researches have paid more attention to the micro-than macro-mechanisms. The paper aims to explore the roles played by the macro structural and transitional factors in influencing access to higher education and equity in China. We emphasize the role played by long term changes in income distribution, in part related to the structural changes of the Chinese economy, and medium term characteristics of a transition economy.