Assessing and Evaluating the Higher Education Disparities in Eastern China: A Quantitative Analysis Based on the Main Indicators of the 14th 5YP (2020-2025)

The uneven distribution of educational resources in Eastern China will have an impact not only on the quality of higher education across regions but also on the development of the country. This paper analyzes the 14th five-year plan of higher education of eight provinces and two cities in Eastern China. Our findings show that GDP has a significant positive relationship with education funds (r = 0.92), population (r = 0.85), R&D projects (r = 0.91), R&D researchers (r = 0.89), undergraduate students (r = 0.84), and graduate students (r = 0.80), implying that the economic development of rich regions has a high impact on research development, education funds, and student enrollments. Our data are helpful in understanding the role of institutions and government in determining equitable educational distributions.