Performance evaluation is an important baton for educational evaluation, and it is also a direct baton for the construction of high-level vocational schools and majors with Chinese characteristics. A few days ago, the General Office of the Ministry of Education and other departments issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Performance Evaluation of the High-level Vocational Schools and Majors Construction Plan with Chinese Characteristics (2019-2023)", and 197 participating schools and provincial "double-high" construction units and even the entire higher vocational front are very concerned about this. Therefore, a correct understanding and grasp of the work connotation and policy essence of the "double high" performance evaluation is related to the direction and future of China's higher vocational education, and truly embodies the "big difference between building and not building, and building well and poorly", and plays a leading role in the development of China's higher vocational education.
Don't forget the original intention when you came
The plan for the construction of high-level vocational schools and majors with Chinese characteristics was conceived in 2017, formed in 2018, and launched in 2019. The original three sentences represent the initial thinking of decision-makers, that is, "local inseparable, industry recognized, international exchange". Among them, "local inseparability" represents its support demand for local economic and social development and industrial development; "Recognized by the industry" reflects its influence and exemplary role in higher vocational peers; "International exchange" represents its influence and leading role in international vocational education, especially the countries and regions of the "Belt and Road", in terms of talent training and standard construction through international cooperation and exchanges, teaching and output.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance made it clear that the "Double High Plan" should focus on building a number of higher vocational schools and professional groups that "lead reform, support development, have Chinese characteristics, and are world-class", so as to drive vocational schools to continue to deepen reform, strengthen connotation construction, and achieve high-quality development. This puts forward requirements for the "double high" construction unit in the reform of the school-running mode and institutional mechanism, the reform of the talent training model, the construction of the "double-teacher" teaching team, especially the reform of the "three educations", and the comprehensive education reform of the "post course certificate", and at the same time, it also puts forward the hope of building Chinese characteristics and creating a world level. Because of this, we have reason to believe that the "four key phrases" and "three sentences" should be the original mission of the "Double High Plan", and our performance evaluation work should not only record the road we have traveled, but also not forget the heart when we came.
Speak with results and results
According to the opinions of the Communist Party of China on the full implementation of budget performance management, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance issued the "Measures for the Management of Funds for the Quality Improvement Plan of Modern Vocational Education" and the "Interim Measures for the Performance Management of the Plan for the Construction of High-level Vocational Schools and Majors with Chinese Characteristics", emphasizing the performance management and performance evaluation of the "Double High Plan", and has successfully carried out the mid-term performance evaluation. The author believes that under the premise of ensuring that the use of funds is legal and standardized, there are several key points in performance evaluation:
First, budget performance management and performance evaluation are important contents of the construction and capacity building of the national governance system, emphasizing that spending money must be effective, and ineffective must be accountable. The "Double High Plan" funds are special support funds in addition to conventional funds, and they should have special performance, and they must be used accurately and effectively.
Second, the goal of performance construction and evaluation should be the output and effect of the "Double High Plan" during the implementation period. The requirements of Article 3 of the above-mentioned "Interim Measures" are: the performance objectives focus on aligning with the national strategy, responding to the deployment of reform tasks, focusing on "leading", strengthening "support", highlighting "high", highlighting "strong" and "special", and demonstrating the contribution to the formation of "a number of effective policies, systems and standards for the high-quality development of vocational education" in the country. The author believes that this is to reconcile accounts one by one according to the requirements of the planned tasks, and innovate brilliantly according to the requirements of reform and innovation.
Third, the results of performance construction should be an organic combination of quantity and quality. In terms of quantity, in accordance with the requirements of spending a certain amount of money to do a certain thing, the money going with the matter, spending the money to achieve results, and matching the money, the money is spent well and the things are done well, and the task is completed 100% or close to 100% in terms of quantity; From the point of view of quality, it should be benchmarked against the table, keep pace with the times, have reform and innovation measures, and have landmark achievements that lead to brilliance.
Fourth, the method of case support and data support is widely adopted, that is to say, to prove the effectiveness of the use of funds of the "Double High Plan" to describe the practices and results, and the most effective way is to support the case, that is, we usually say let the facts speak, let the data speak, tell the story of China's higher vocational reform and innovation, and tell the story of the "Double High Plan" brilliant and effective.
Pay attention to the process operation specification
The comprehensive implementation of budget performance management is an inherent requirement to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and one of the important ways of modern project management is to emphasize both results and processes, and unify the results and processes.
In order to comprehensively monitor the whole process of the "Double High Plan" from declaration to operation to evaluation, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance have set up a project monitoring platform, which requires filling in the performance evaluation data during the construction cycle, submitting supporting materials and typical cases, and forming self-scoring and self-evaluation conclusions.
In this regard, the author believes that first, the process management and platform monitoring emphasize the scientificity and rationality of the preparation of the tasks of the "Double High Plan", which also reflects the school's grasp of its own situation, the grasp of the type and level of higher vocational education, and the grasp of the policy essence of the "Double High Plan" project, which is an important consideration for the level of school running and governance.
Second, the process management and platform monitoring reflect the ability and level of the school to promote the "Double High Plan" project in an orderly manner according to the plan task book, so as to prevent some project construction units from focusing on declaration and construction, focusing on the end of the period and ignoring daily management, so as to truly achieve the orderly progress and standardized operation of the whole process from declaration to operation to evaluation.
Third, process management and platform monitoring can overcome arbitrariness and avoid big ups and downs, which can maintain the organic unity and coordinated operation of project operation management and daily work of the school, prevent "two skins", prevent surprise spending and surprise projects, and truly achieve the goal of continuously strengthening the connotation construction proposed by the "Double High Plan" and leading the high-quality development of vocational education.
Always remember the fundamental point of running a school
In essence, the "Double High Plan" is a long-term quality project of vocational education, and its goal is to face 2035, face the modernization of education, and base itself on the construction of a strong country in education. However, its purpose is to lead reform and support development, and it is an important content and organic part of the high-quality development of vocational education. Therefore, the "double-high plan" must grasp the fundamental point of running and governing schools.
First, we must persist in strengthening the party's overall leadership and party building. One of the highlights of the "Double High Plan" is that it puts the strengthening of party building in the first point in the "one strengthening, four building, and five promotions", which highlights the political position of the "Double High Plan". To this end, we must take the implementation of the "double high plan" task as an opportunity, fully grasp the importance and basic requirements of the party's overall leadership, and effectively promote the principal responsibility system under the leadership of the party committee to take root, and the party building "double creation" work is effective, so that the party's banner flutters high in the "double high plan".
Second, we must fully implement the fundamental task of establishing morality and cultivating people. It is necessary to put the important point of the "Double High Plan" on the fundamental task of cultivating people with virtue, truly benefiting and adding value to students, building a system and mechanism for cultivating people with virtue in building a high-quality technical skills service platform, guiding students to apply for joining the party, supporting students to sign up for the army, improving students' employment and entrepreneurship ability, encouraging students to make contributions to the places where the motherland needs them most, and making more contributions to cultivating more technical and skilled talents and skilled craftsmen and craftsmen of great countries.
Third, we must continue to deepen the integration of industry and education and school-enterprise cooperation. Benchmarking against the important instructions of the general secretary on vocational education, studying and implementing the spirit of the National Vocational Education Conference, implementing the "Vocational Education Law of the People's Republic of China", implementing the spirit of the relevant documents of the Central Office of the State Council, and striving to implement the integration of industry and education and school-enterprise cooperation in the construction of "double highs", empower the high-quality development of vocational education with the integration of industry and education, and make higher vocational contributions to the construction of a modern vocational education system.
In short, evaluation is not an end but a means, through scientific, reasonable, correct and orderly evaluation, truly realize the original intention of the project construction, and guide the schools to strive to run a high-quality and high-level education that reassures the party and satisfies the people, which is the purpose of the "double high" performance evaluation.
The author is the chairman of the Vocational Education Branch of the Chinese Association of Higher Education and the director of the Development Advisory Committee of Zhejiang Vocational College of Finance).
China Education Daily, February 20, 2024, page 3
Author: Zhou Jiansong.