A recent circular jointly issued by five ministries will give colleges and universities more autonomy in issues such as setting up new academic majors, human resources management, professional title review, and fund and property management.

The Ministry of Education, State Commission Office of Public Sector Reform, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released the circular to further the streamlining and delegating reform and optimize services in the education sector.

Efforts should be made to break institutional barriers in higher education and give schools more autonomy to motivate college teachers and researchers to cultivate all kinds of innovative talent for the modernization of society, according to an official at the Ministry of Education.

The current higher education reform still faces many institutional obstacles at a time when higher education is going through a transformation.

Colleges and universities will be able to make decisions about setting up most new majors.

Staff recruiting procedures at colleges and universities will be streamlined as government departments will not organize recruitment exams, and colleges and universities will be able to independently set recruiting requirements and standards.

The authority of professional title reviews will be delegated to colleges and universities, and the review method will also be improved, as teachers’ professional ethics will be the top requirement, while teaching performance will be major factors in the review.

In addition, review standards regarding different disciplines and a system of peer review will be improved.

Efforts will be made to streamline budget management so that colleges and universities will have more authority in project fund expenditures.

In addition to the streamlining and delegating reform, a monitoring system should be established to enhance regulation and optimize services, according to the circular.