Press Releases

2019 MOE Conference on targeted poverty alleviation held in Beijing

Source: moe.gov.cn
2019-11-11

On November 7, the MOE held a conference in Beijing to review the progress made and identify the next steps to be taken in its targeted poverty relief efforts in Qinglong County and Wei County, Hebei Province. Minister of Education Chen Baosheng attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

Minister Chen declared that since the launch of the three-year anti-poverty action plan (2018-2020), over 30 MOE departments and 50 MOE-affiliated higher education institutions (HEIs) had offered tailored support to Qinglong and Wei counties and explored new models of poverty reduction. As a result of these efforts, in September 2018, both counties were removed from the list of national-level poverty-stricken counties. This achievement proved the effectiveness of collaboration between educational authorities at four levels, and the mechanism for dispatching high-caliber staff to work in less developed areas.

Chen also highlighted that since the 18th Party Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee had called for efforts to be redoubled to achieve the final victory in the battle against poverty. The education sector, therefore, should also shift its focus of targeted poverty alleviation work to ending poverty forever by taking long-term rejuvenation-oriented measures.

He further specified five pillars of this task. First, a “radar” system had to be put in place to monitor the effectiveness of poverty eradication efforts and prevent those who had already been lifted out of poverty from regressing. Second, “bridges” had to be erected between the government and the public, between poverty eradication and wealth creation, and between poverty prevention and other work. Third, an accountability system had to be established to ensure stable staffing and adequate resource allocation. Fourth, a support structure had to be reinforced to nurture and boost industries, and promote stable employment. Fifth, the fundamental role of education in facilitating poverty prevention had to be stressed and exploited to the full.

The conference was hosted by Vice Minister of Education Sun Yao and attended by representatives from Hebei Provincial Department of Education, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, several MOE departments, affiliated agencies and HEIs. Major leaders from Qinglong County and Wei County presented reports on poverty relief work in their respective counties.