CRI听力:Public Institutions Reform

Similar to government departments but contrary to private businesses, public institutions in China are financed by the national budget and do not strive for profits. They cover sectors such as education, science, culture, health, agriculture, forestry, water conservation and the media.

By 2011, China had 1.26 million public institutions with more than 30 million employees.

As the number of workers in public institutions is far greater than the number of civil servants, it's becoming increasingly challenging for the central government to finance such a huge group.

According to a circular that contains guidelines from the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the development of public institutions lags far behind social development, with many such institutions having ambiguous functions.

The circular says an efficient, clearly-defined and regulated mechanism for public institutions will be established by 2020.The reform also aims to enable public institutions to offer more quality social services.

According to the circular which outlines the plan for reform, public institutions with administrative roles will eventually be turned into government departments, or merged into existing ones. Those which take part in business operations will be gradually transformed into private enterprises. And those providing social services will retain their status as public institutions, with the public-welfare nature of such institutions to be strengthened.

Song Shiming, professor from the Chinese Academy of Governance says clear identification regarding the nature of public institutions is required.

"Categorization of public institutions must be carried out prior to reform. Categorization is the basis of such reform. However, before categorization can be carried out, it's very important to specify the nature of public institutions."

A number of experts have said that such reform not only focuses on cutting the number of employees or the number of existing institutions. Here is political and economic analyst Yang Yu.

"For these yet-to-be-reformed public institutions, it's not simply about reducing staff or trimming the budget. What's more important is clearly identifying the function of certain organizations, and determining how many employees and sectors they really need. Reform of public institutions is a result of higher expectations for public services. The reform should be completed through a process of being creative in management, income allocation as well as social welfare, rather than employing a process of rigid change."

According to the circular, efforts should be made towards conducting assets inspections, financial auditing, capital rating and debt verification prior to transforming public institutions, and national assets must be registered.

Labor contracts and social insurance for the staff of public institutions should also be changed accordingly, with retired employees retaining their original status; the circular went on to say.

A transitional period of change within each public institution will last for around five years, ensuring a smooth switch to new working procedures. The circular stressed the role of public institutions as social service providers, saying that efforts should be made to promote equalized social services between rural and urban areas and among different regions.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.