On January 16 and 17, the 2022 National Education Conference was held in Beijing, which underscored the need to get a deeper understanding of and put into practice the ideas proposed in the 19th National Congress of the CPC and the 19th CPC Central Committee. The conference also stressed the importance of improving the quality of education, accelerating the modernization of education, building a strong education system, and preparing students to become well-rounded individuals who are morally integral, intellectually knowledgeable, physically healthy, aesthetically sensible, hard-working and industrious.
It was stated at the conference that 2021 marked a milestone in the history of the CPC and the country. In this year, the education sector made remarkable accomplishments. For example, a series of campaigns were held to help people better understand and learn from the history of the CPC, the fundamental role of moral education was strengthened, great efforts were made to solve some of the biggest concerns of parents and students, and sufficient support were given to promote the quality of education.
In this new era, it is important to look at education with foresight from a brand new perspective and in a big picture. On one hand, we should be fully aware that education is a prerequisite for the country’s prosperity. On the other hand, we should be clear that the education sector is now facing unprecedented challenges in the post-COVID period, that new demand is arising in the process of economic modernization, and that people are having higher expectations of education. A variety of problems still exist, which requires more efforts to produce qualified processionals, promote education equity, deepen education reforms and improve education quality.
In its next step, the education sector will continue to follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the leadership of the CPC, to create a positive and conducive learning environment and support students’ well-rounded development. Efforts will be made to implement the “Double Reduction” policy to lessen students’ unnecessary academic burden, expand the coverage of preschool education, provide more balanced and higher quality compulsory education, and encourage diversified development of senior high schools. Vocational education will be upgraded to better meet social needs. In terms of higher education, national strategies will be implemented to produce high-calibre professionals, innovative and frontier scientific research will be given increased emphasis, and a number of universities will be transformed into world-class education institutions. Endeavor will be made to improve the quality of the teaching workforce, and the top priority is to strengthen teacher ethics. Also, reforms will be implemented to refine the current evaluation systems and enhance digital transformation in education. More than 4% of GDP will be spent on education each year. Finally, the education sector will be further opened up to the world to utilize excellent global education resources and make China’s voices better heard.
Attendees to the conference include representatives from the MOE, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, local education authorities and universities. Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng gave a work report at the event, and representatives from local education authorities of 13 provinces/cities exchanged views and held a discussion.
