In order to address the nation’s increasing ageing population and diminishing fertility, China’s President Xi Jinping has decided to build the National University for the Aged.
According to a notice released by China’s Ministry of Education on Thursday, the university would work under the control of the government-run Open University of China.
According to the Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship tabloid, the curriculum for students 60 and older will cover everything from foreign languages, computer skills, music, and dancing to photography, painting, sports, cooking, and other crafts and abilities. The announcement comes just a month after China’s leader demanded that Beijing “actively implement a national strategy to cope with ageing.”
18.9% of China’s population was 60 or older as of 2021
More than 267 million Chinese citizens, or 18.9% of the country’s population, were 60 or older as of 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The number of people aged 60 and older is anticipated to rise in the following decades, reaching 400 million by 2035, making up 30% of the total population.
The population of China is anticipated to begin declining starting in 2019, with India possibly overtaking China as the world’s most populous nation. In the 1980s, China rigidly enforced the one-child rule for many years. After the fertility rate began to decline rapidly in 2015, it was forced to end this harsh policy.
The country is encouraging couples to have more children by enticing them with tax breaks
China has been encouraging couples to have more children by enticing them with tax breaks and cash handouts, aside from generous maternity leave, medical insurance, and housing subsidies, amid worries about the prospect of an ageing society.
However, according to experts, these steps won’t be enough to persuade people who are already frustrated with COVID-19 curbs, the state of the economy, high education costs, low wages, and notoriously long work hours.