Chinese universities have launched a major overhaul of higher education, eliminating programs the government considers obsolete. Over the past five years, the country has shut down or suspended 12,200 programs while simultaneously opening 10,200 new ones.
According to China’s Ministry of Education, the changes affected more than 30% of all programs at the country’s universities. The main goal of the reform is to align the education system with economic needs and prepare specialists for fast-growing industries tied to AI and high tech.
The largest number of cuts fell on humanities, foreign languages, management and the arts. Authorities believe there are too many graduates from these fields already in the labor market, while demand for engineers, AI specialists and digital technology professionals continues to grow.
Chinese universities are opening new departments focused on robotics, AI and so-called «embodied AI» — a field that combines AI with robotic systems and physical devices.
The reform is unfolding against the backdrop of a difficult labor market. Despite a record number of graduates, many young professionals are struggling to find work, with the youth unemployment rate exceeding 16% in China.
A similar trend is beginning to take shape in Kazakhstan. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ordered the accelerated creation of Central Asia’s first AI university, which will train specialists for the digital economy. While a sweeping revision of educational programs is not yet on the table, preparing personnel for the AI sector in Kazakhstan is already becoming a priority.
