China.org.cn | January 10, 2025
Mr. Huai Jinpeng, minister of education
Mr. Wang Jiayi, vice minister of education
Mr. Wu Yan, vice minister of education
Mr. Wang Guangyan, vice minister of education
Chairperson:
Shou Xiaoli, director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
Sept. 26, 2024
Shou Xiaoli:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO), as part of the series "Promoting High-Quality Development." Today, we have invited Mr. Huai Jinpeng, minister of education, to brief you on relevant developments and to answer your questions. Also present today are Mr. Wang Jiayi, Mr. Wu Yan and Mr. Wang Guangyan, all vice ministers of education.
Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Huai for his introduction.
Huai Jinpeng:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning. I am very pleased to attend today's press conference with my colleagues from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and to speak with you on topics of common interest to you all and society at large. First, I would like to express my sincere respect and gratitude on behalf of the MOE for the long-term care, support and trust in education from you all and all sectors of society, as well as for your selfless assistance.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core places great emphasis on the development of education, treating education as a top priority for both the nation and the Party. It has made significant decisions to deeply implement the strategy of invigorating China through science and education and to accelerate the modernization of education, setting the goal of building a leading country in education by 2035. On Sept. 9, the CPC Central Committee convened the National Education Conference, where General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech, clearly outlining the strategic vision for building a leading country in education. The general secretary pointed out that education is the foundation for building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation. He emphasized that the strong educational system we aim to build should feature socialism with Chinese characteristics, and possess robust political guidance, competitiveness in talent, support for technology, ability to ensure people's well-being, synergy with social development, and international influence. These six characteristics fundamentally describe the key features of the strong educational system we aim to build. He required us to firmly grasp the political, people-centered and strategic nature of education, and correctly handle the relationships between supporting national strategy and meeting the people's needs, between knowledge learning and all-round development, between cultivating talent and meeting societal needs, between regulation and invigorating dynamism, and between being rooted in China and drawing on international experiences. He systematically laid out the strategic tasks and significant measures for building a leading country in education, forming the general outline and focus for our future education reform and development. The MOE is now deeply implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech and the guiding principles of the National Education Conference, treating the formulation and implementation of the plan for building a leading country in education as a strategic measure to promote high-quality development. Moving forward, we will spare no effort to implement the spirit of the general secretary's important speech, comprehensively advance the tasks of building a leading country in education, fully implement the major tasks of comprehensive educational reform laid out during the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and make solid progress toward the goal of building a leading country in education.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the development of socialist education with Chinese characteristics has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone structural changes. These are primarily reflected in:
First, the results of all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor education have become more significant. A basic framework of Party-building work that extends deeply, broadly and covers all aspects has been established. The concept of fostering development in all five educational aspects has deeply resonated with people, comprehensive efforts to strengthen political education in schools have been reinforced, and efforts to enhance students' well-rounded development has been solidly advanced. Schools conscientiously work to educate talent for the Party and the country, and the determination of young students to listen to and follow the Party has been further strengthened. Significant progress has been made in the development of teachers, with the number of teachers increasing from 14.629 million in 2012 to 18.918 million by the end of last year, while their abilities to teach and cultivate have been continually enhanced.
Second, the sense of gain in education among the people has increased. We have built the world's largest education system and it is of high quality. Here, I would like to share some statistics with you. The gross enrollment rate for preschool education in 2012 was 64.5%, which increased by 26.6 percentage points to 91.1% by the end of last year. Basic education has reached the average level of high-income countries around the world, signifying that the ability and quality of China's basic education are globally comparable. In terms of higher education, the enrollment rate was 30% in 2012, and over the past decade, it has risen by 30.2 percentage points, reaching the stage of being universal. In basic education, all 2,895 county-level regions nationwide have fully achieved a basic balance in the compulsory education system. The fundamental issue of people having access to education has been resolved. Student financial aid covers all educational stages, with 1.4 billion benefits being distributed to students. The nutrition improvement plan has benefited students 420 million person-times. Since 2012, we have initiated a special enrollment plan for key universities targeting rural areas and previously impoverished areas, benefiting students from the eastern, central and western parts of China, to promote more equitable development in education. Over the past decade, we have enrolled more than 1.1 million students in this plan. Additionally, in the targeted education of medical students for rural areas, we have provided free education specifically for over 50,000 graduates who later serve in township health centers in the central and western regions of China, helping improve the health of local people.
Third, education has provided stronger support for economic and social development. In the new era, universities and colleges have provided over 100 million graduates to serve economic and social development. We have achieved significant landmark results in scientific research, mainly characterized by more than 70% of the State Natural Science Award and State Technological Invention Award, and nearly 50% of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award coming from universities. Especially in fields such as quantum technology, life sciences, materials science and space science, we have made a series of significant original achievements. These all demonstrate the important role of higher education in China as the main force in national basic research and a critical source of major technological breakthroughs. Universities and colleges have also made active contributions to research in philosophy, social sciences and the continuous development of culture and arts, with capabilities in policy advising, education and artistic creation continuously increasing.
Fourth, comprehensive educational reforms have deepened. We have advanced the reform of comprehensive educational evaluation and significantly transformed the ecosystem of basic education through the policy to relieve students of excessive burdens from homework and off-campus tutoring. We have also fundamentally established an exam recruitment model that includes categorized examination, comprehensive evaluation and diverse admissions. This has effectively promoted student development, national talent selection and social equity.
Fifth, the international influence of Chinese education has become more pronounced. We have signed agreements for the mutual recognition of academic degrees with 59 countries and regions. The National Smart Education Platform has provided services to over 200 countries and more than 10 million overseas users. As of this month, the National Smart Education Platform has received over 50 billion visits, making it the most actively used and most beneficial platform in the world. It has also provided valuable data resources for our basic education, vocational education and higher education, solidifying the achievements of our national digital education strategy. Meanwhile, we have successfully advocated for the establishment of the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education in China. These efforts are of significant importance in further serving society and advancing international exchange and cooperation. Additionally, the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Xiamen University have initiated the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) and Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions (ONCE) Big Science Programs, respectively. Chinese education has demonstrated a more open and confident presence on the international stage, and is increasingly capable of participating in international scientific discoveries and research.
Building a leading country in education has been a cherished aspiration of the Chinese nation since modern times. We will bear in mind the trust of General Secretary Xi Jinping, focus on the overarching goal of building a leading country in education by 2035, and, with the strategic vision of cultivating talents with time and effort and the striving spirit of competing vigorously, we will write a new chapter in the development of a leading country in education and make even greater contributions to advancing Chinese modernization.
With the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China approaching, on behalf of the MOE, I would like to extend our best wishes to friends from the media and people from all sectors of society. I wish you a happy holiday and may our motherland continue to thrive and prosper.
That is all for my introduction. Thank you.
