China's education minister, Chen Baosheng, said there were 36.47 million students receiving higher education in 2015, an increase of 17.5 percent from 2010.
Access to higher education has expanded constantly, Chen told legislators during the ongoing bimonthly session of the top legislature, while elaborating on a report on higher education .
The gross enrollment ratio for higher education, a gauge for education opportunities, was 40 percent in 2015, 13.5 percentage points higher than in 2010, exceeding the average level of medium-to-high income countries, Chen said.
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), over 45 percent of the new work force had received higher education, according to Chen's report.
Moreover, Chinese universities and colleges attracted nearly 400,000 overseas students from 202 countries and regions last year, a 50 percent surge from 2010.
