Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng made an inspection trip to Guangdong province between August 31 and September 1, during which he held discussions with leading members of the Guangdong provincial government on how to improve the quality of vocational education. He also chaired a symposium on vocational education reforms.
At the symposium, Huai pointed out that vocational education has greatly contributed to the socioeconomic development of the country and has played a significant role in increasing employment and improving people’s lives. He commended the Guangdong provincial government’s tremendous efforts in developing vocational education. He said, since Guangdong province boasted a thriving industrial system and a solid infrastructure network, and demand for vocational education in this area is great, he believed Guangdong province was fully equipped and capable of developing a new model for vocational education. Huai said he hoped Guangdong would continue to explore ways to strengthen industry-school partnerships, enhance the synergy between regular senior high schools and secondary vocational schools, and build an enabling institutional environment, so that it could set a good example for and share replicable strategies and approaches with other places in the country.
Wang Weizhong, Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Guangdong province, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education for its great support for Guangdong’s educational reforms. Wang said Guangdong has now launched a series of important plans and programs, e.g. the plans to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Shenzhen demonstration pilot zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the Nansha New Area in Guangzhou. He said, against this backdrop, pressing ahead with rapid growth of the industrial system requires a large skilled workforce. For its next step, Guangdong will focus on building the core capacity of vocational schools and formulate enabling policies, so as to deepen modern vocational education reforms.
During his trip, Huai also visited Guangzhou Foreign Language School to inspect preparedness for the opening of school and prevention and control measures for COVID-19.
