To facilitate the implementation of the Plan on Myopia Prevention and Control in Children jointly developed by the MOE and seven other ministries, the MOE recently issued guidance to primary and secondary schools across the country on reporting student vision screening results.
The guidance sets two reporting periods for 2024: The spring semester reporting period will run from April 1 to June 30, and the autumn semester reporting period will run from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31. Schools are required to report students’ uncorrected visual acuity and diopter results for both the left and right eyes.
The guidance includes the following requirements:
First, local educational authorities should strengthen coordination to ensure timely data reporting within the specified periods and encourage kindergartens and preschools to organize, if possible, vision screening for preschoolers (3–6 years old) to enable early prevention of vision problems.
Second, local government departments in charge of education, healthcare, and market supervision should enhance their collaboration in several areas, e.g., prohibiting access to schools by unaccredited institutions to conduct eye tests, cracking down on false promotion of myopia prevention products and services, and protecting the safety of eye exam data.
Third, local authorities should also provide adequate financial support, designate professional eye exam teams, and ensure that each educational institution has proper healthcare rooms and facilities with qualified school physicians to arrange for and supervise the eye testing process. Schools are encouraged to optimize their reporting by using AI and big data technologies where possible.
Fourth, screening results should be provided to parents in a timely manner so that students with abnormal vision results can be brought to hospitals for further examination and early intervention.
Fifth, local authorities should also advise primary and secondary schools to submit vision screening data via the National Student Physical Information System, while guaranteeing that the data are authentic and obtained through a rigorous process in compliance with relevant standards.
