China's secondary vocational training schools plan to enroll eight million students in 2007, up 500,000 from the previous year, said an official with the Ministry of Education.

If the enrollment objective is met, there will be as many vocational schools students as there are high schools students.

The official said a new education system will be introduced in the country's secondary vocational schools, under which students will spend half of their study time in classrooms learning skills and techniques from text books, and the other half of their time learning on the job in factories or enterprises.

While many university graduates remain unemployed, there remains a shortage of blue-collar workers with specialized skills.

Zhu Qingshi, dean of University of Science and Technology of China, recently called on the country's universities or higher learning institutions to develop vocational training, saying that the society needs both professors, scientists, politicians and professional chefs.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)