A national education conference was held in Beijing on September 10, coinciding with China’s 34th Teacher’s Day. The General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the conference, acclaiming teachers and educators nationwide on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. His attendance and his speech were both testimony to the primary importance the Party and the State Council put on education, and reflected profound care afforded to those working in education.
The conference was convened as efforts continued to implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era, roll out guidance from the 19th CPC National Congress and secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It will have a far-reaching impact on the preparation of next generations to join the socialist cause and accelerate the modernization of education to empower the nation through education and provide quality education that meets people’s expectation.
In his speech, General Secretary Xi crystallized the historic achievements gained through educational reform and progress made since the 18th CPC National Congress, provided solutions to a series of major strategic issues, and set the overall direction for educational progress in the new era. His statement will serve as an essential set of guidelines for developing and improving the education system. All those engaged in education were called upon to actively implement the spirit of the conference and study Xi’s statement, with a view to obtaining comprehensive educational progress in China.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi has proposed a range of new philosophies, ideas and viewpoints regarding educational reform, calling upon those working in education to continue their hard work in 9 areas: (1) ensuring full Party leadership, (2) strengthening the foundation built on moral education, (3) prioritizing educational development, (4) setting education in a socialist direction, (5) development of education rooted in China, (6) people-oriented progress, (7) deepening educational reform and innovation, (8) fulfilling the goal of revitalizing the Chinese nation, and (9) focusing on teacher development. It behooves those engaged in education to steadfastly follow these requirements, while studying and further developing them as a navigational chart to guide educational reform through the new era.
The education sector also had to systematically solve the fundamental issues of “who to educate and how, and for whom.” Under the socialist system of China, the most basic task of education was to nurture generations of capable people ready to join the socialist cause whilst upholding the Party’s leadership and the socialist system. To this end, more efforts will be made to enhance patriotic education and moral education to foster diligence and dedication to scholarship, build a comprehensive system that integrates moral education into school curricula, ranging from elementary education courses to vocational and higher education courses. The systems of disciplines, didactics, teaching materials and school management will also be geared to this purpose.
Xi’s statement on education at the national education conference offered a systematic and sound description of the socialist education theoretic system with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The education sector needs to truly understand its essence to ensure full implementation in practice, which was and would be a primary political task over the long term. This requires those working in education to firmly uphold the spirit of Xi’s statement under the guidance of the XI Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era. Specifically, confronted with new challenges and imperatives, they have to (1) implement the strategy setting education as a priority and continue efforts in reform and innovation, focusing on the promotion of fair and quality education; (2) reinforce the education sector’s services for innovation and development to train more and diversified types of talents adaptable to high-level demands; and (3) deepen the educational reform to boost vitality and increase motivation, bolstering the national modernization with the modernization of education. In addition, the Party organizations at all levels should incorporate educational reform and development into their agenda, while paying more attention to the work on education.
The golden age still lay ahead. Though the education sector has made unprecedented progress, it would take generations more to fulfill the ambitious goals of the modernization of education in China. Teachers and educators nationwide should join hands and work together to train more quality talents needed in the new era to meet expectations of the Party, the country and people, making larger contribution to the development of education.
