As a result, Zhang observed, the principals do not need to bother distinguishing their schools by their quality of service. They don't have to reduce the number of students they recruit to learn IT, logistics and accounting, where an oversupply in graduates has been reported, or expand their recruitment in fields related to public infrastructure development and in other technologies.

The government's school evaluation system is also problematic, said Wang Zhong, an education official in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

Even though vocational schools are not supposed to be elitist institutions, their evaluation is still based on students' written work. Instead, he said, such schools should be evaluated on the basis of their students' practical performance.

China should take a look at the practices in other countries and adopt a third-party evaluation system for vocational schools, Wang suggested.

Meanwhile, many critics have criticized the outdated curriculum. Many, or perhaps too many, fields of study are designed for white-collar workers, leaving only a few fields for blue-collar workers.

Vocational schools and universities should be complementary to each other, said an article co-authored by Zhang Haishui and Hu Ruiwen, researchers in Shanghai New Century Human Resource Institute and Shanghai Municipal Academy of Educational Sciences.

The fields of study available in universities do not need to be offered in vocational schools. Enrollment should be cut down in the fields that are already in oversupply, such as accounting, traditional Chinese medicine, performing arts and financial services.

Whereas fields that are in high demand, such as culinary skills and leisure services, should be expanded.

Internship programs should become more available in China to bridge the gap between vocational schools and the job market, said Zhang Sheyu, a professor of education in Henan Institute of Science and Technology.

The author is a writer with China Daily. [email protected]