Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng attended the launch of UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report and addressed a high-level ministerial panel at UNESCO’s invitation on March 25.
Huai stated that China puts a high priority on education and regards educational equity and quality as national commitments. China has set a strategic goal of becoming an education powerhouse by 2035 and is formulating an educational development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The country will strive to expand higher education capacity to better meet public demand, enhance innovation in higher education to keep pace with scientific and technological advancements, improve the quality of talent training to support economic and social development, and ensure fair access to higher education to advance educational equity.
Huai offered three proposals for the future of global higher education beyond 2030. First, schools worldwide should shift from knowledge transmission to competency-based education, with a focus on cultivating critical thinking, global awareness, and the ability to solve complex problems. Second, the education sector should enhance research capacity while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and integration among academia, industry, and research institutions. Third, governments should cooperate to build a global education community, expanding exchanges among universities to jointly address major challenges facing humanity. Huai added that China stands ready to work through UNESCO to share its experience in digitalization and educational equity with other countries and to collectively respond to challenges brought by the age of artificial intelligence.
The 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report is UNESCO’s flagship publication tracking progress toward the UN’s 2030 education goals. The 2026 edition features the theme “Opportunity and Equity.” UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini, and education ministers from many countries attended the launch ceremony. The UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed delivered remarks via video.
During the event, Huai met with UNESCO Director-General El-Enany, Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, and Serbian Education Minister Slavica Đukić Dejanović. They exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.
