China's revised law on vocational education, which will take effect from May 1, will promote equal job opportunities for vocational school graduates and advance the quality of vocational education, officials with the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday during a press conference.

The revision was recently adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, marking the first time the law has been revised since it was adopted in 1996. Detailed provisions have been made to resolve the problems faced by vocational school students. 

The revision stipulates that vocational education is as important as general education and that vocational school graduates should enjoy equal career opportunities. It also encourages enterprise participation in vocational education and calls for enterprises to consider technical skills an important recruitment prerequisite when hiring personnel.  

According to the revision, based on the need for industrial layouts, China should vigorously develop new vocational education majors for advanced manufacturing. It also plans to optimize the use of education expenditure to ensure the budget for the development of vocational education.

China has built the world's largest vocational education system, with 11,300 vocational schools enrolling 30.88 million students and churning out 10 million graduates annually. But the system remains underdeveloped and is yet to meet the demands of the society.

The country has introduced a series of policy measures over the years, laying a solid foundation for enacting the amended Vocational Education Law. Equating vocational education with general education means the former will receive the same recognition.

(With input from agencies)