General Office, Ministry of Education

7 January 2009

To Departments of Education or Commission of Education of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, Departments of Education of municipalities specifically designated in the state plan, Department of Education of Xinjiang Production and Construction Army Corps, and institutions of higher education directly administered by the Ministry of Education:

The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to the reform and development of education. In recent years, General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have given a series of important instructions on the research for and the formulation of the Outline of the National Medium- and Long-Term Programme for Education Reform and Development (referred to hereinafter as the Outline). On 29 August 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over the first meeting of the National Science and Technology Education Leading Group at which the plans for the formulation of the Outline were examined and approved, thus officially starting the research and formulation of the Outline. It was also mandated at the meeting that the views of the masses must be heard, their wisdom must be pooled, and the advice and suggestions of people of all walks of life must be solicited so as to draw up an Outline that is satisfactory to the people and that suits the actual situation of China and the charac
teristics of the times.

In accordance with the working agenda for the drawing up of the Outline and after consultations with the leading comrades of the State Council, the office for the working group, on the basis of advice solicited from experts and personnel concerned at an earlier stage, will soon initiate the first round of open solicitation of advice and opinions from various circles of society and hereby issue this circular with the intention of facilitating steady progress during the implementation of the work.

I. Great importance should be attached to the work of open solicitation of advice and opinions on the Outline and it must be regarded as a major task at present.

On 18 December 2008, General Secretary Hu Jintao delivered an important speech at the Meeting Marking the 30th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up. The speech profoundly summarises the great achievements made and precious experience gained in the reform and opening up and in the socialist modernisation drive led by the Party in the past thirty years, and points out clearly the direction for strengthening the impetus of the great cause of reform and opening up. The speech is of great realistic significance and far-reaching historical significance in encouraging the Chinese people to hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics and to make solid progress in promoting the scientific development of the educational cause by further emancipating the mind, elevating the morale, pioneering and continuing forging ahead, so that education is operated to the utmost satisfaction of the people.

The important speech delivered recently by Premier Wen Jiabao at the meeting of the National Science and Technology Education Leading Group, titled “Education as a fundamental task crucial for generations to come”, has been published. This important speech, with a historic perspective of the revitalisation of the Chinese nation, the well-being of the people and the future of the nation, highlights the importance of education and the great significance of the formulation of the Outline. The great foresight, sincerity, rich content and profound thought displayed by the speech clarify the direction for the formulation of the Outline and for the promotion of a fast and sound development of the cause of education.

The education administrative departments at various levels of government and institutions of education should attach great importance to the speech and endeavour for the study and implementation of the crux of the speech. They should, in the on-going in-depth activity of study and practice of the scientific concept of development, take serious measures in organising all cadres, teachers, staff and students in grasping the gist of the 17th National Congress of the Party and the Third Plenary Session of the 11th National Congress of the Party; and in studying the speech by General Secretary Hu Jintao at the Meeting Marking the 30th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up and the important speech by Premier Wen Jiabao, so as to unify the ideological recognition of all cadres, teachers, staff, and students with the spirit of the Party Central Committee and its decision-making.

The Outline will be the first plan for education of our country in the 21st century and will be a programmatic document for educational reform and development in the future. Great importance must be attached to the open solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline. The adoption of open and democratic approaches to extensively seeking advice from the people and various circles of society is the only way for the formulation of a high-quality Outline, the necessary mode of work for reaching consensus and enhancing ideological recognition, and an important method to promote educational reform and development and continuous exploration of and innovation in education. Steps should be taken in order to integrate the study and implementation of the important speeches by leaders of the Party Central Committee with the solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline, and, centring on the 36 major issues collected and published by the office of the working group for the O
utline, materialise the study and implementation of the gist of the important speeches by the leaders of the Party Central Committee in the solicitation of advice and opinions and solution of problems.

II. Cadres, teachers, staff and students should be mobilised extensively and organised actively so that they can offer their advice and suggestions.

Education administrative departments at various levels of government and institutions of education should extensively mobilise and actively organise the masses of cadres, teachers, staff and students so that they can air their views and suggestions for the formulation of the Outline, and so that the formulation process of the Outline will be one in which democracy is promoted and collective wisdom can be drawn on and in which people’s ideological recognition can be unified and mutual understanding reached.

Cadres, teachers, staff and students should be mobilised and encouraged to put forward their constructive suggestions and advice through seminars, correspondence, telephone, Internet, especially emails and letters; they should also be organised to take an active part in the essay competition, themed “Designing the scientific development of the cause of education ？C My contributions to the Outline” and co-sponsored by the General Office of the Ministry of Education and the China Education Daily newspaper. The advantages of the specialities of experts and scholars in a place and an institution should be brought into full play through various forms, such as seminars and their publication of directive articles in the media, so that these experts and scholars can participate actively in the activity of the solicitation of advice and suggestions for the Outline.

With the centre of attention focussed on the major issues intended to be solved by the Outline, in-depth investigations should be carried out, firm measures should be discovered and beneficial experience accumulated in a place or an institution of education in terms of the development of educational reform. In this way ideas can be borrowed and reference made for the formulation of the Outline.

III. Communication should be facilitated in order to create a fine atmosphere for public discourse for the solicitation of advice and opinion for the formulation of the Outline.

Local education administrative departments and institutions of higher education should, in accordance with the general requirements and arrangements set out in the plans by the competent publicity departments of the Party at higher levels and the education administrative departments for the publicity and news coverage of the open solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline, pay adequate attention to the carrying out of such endeavours. These departments and institutions should take the initiative to communicate with the local Party publicity department and establish a mechanism for consultation, so as to lay a solid foundation for the smooth unfolding of the open solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline. They should also make efforts to strengthen ties with local media, with the emphasis laid on the political, solemn, extensive, constructive nature of the open solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline, and maintain a correct
orientation for public opinion, so that a fine environment of public opinion can be created for the open solicitation of advice and opinions for the formulation of the Outline.

IV. Organisation should be meticulously planned to ensure the orderly and efficient development of the open solicitation of advice and opinions.

The formulation of the Outline has a strong political and policy-based nature and thus warrants a high degree of social attention. Local education administrative departments at various levels of government and institutions of higher education should consolidate leadership, organise meticulously, strengthen the contingent of cadres, and assign responsibilities appropriately, so as to ensure the orderly and efficient unfolding of the open solicitation of advice and opinions. Cadres, teachers, staff and students should be guided to carry out their sense of ownership, to air their views and suggestions through proper channels; in this way, the open solicitation work can serve as an important opportunity for the education of patriotism and education on the actual situation both of China and of the educational sector, and these in turn will form an important carrier for the consolidating of the on-campus cultural construction. Detailed analysis and study should be done of the trends of public opinion and coordinati
on and cooperation should be ensured between departments concerned for a positive guidance and the clearing up of doubts and confusions. In the meantime, efforts should be made specifically in guiding the campus intranet to serve as a field for the solicitation of advice and opinions for the Outline.

Important news and information concerning the implementation of the crux of this Circular in all the parts of the country and at all institutions of higher education and the developments of the open solicitation of advice and opinions should be reported to the Information Office, Ministry of Education. Contact Zhao Jianwu at 010-66096143 or 66097225; or fax 010-66096612.