Ministry of
Education, P. R. China
24 December
1998
The Fifteenth National Congress of
the Communist Party of China set the grandiose goals and
trans-century task of socialist modernization, and mapped
out the overall plan for implementing the strategies for
invigorating China through science and education. To fulfil
the task and achieve the goal set by the Fifteenth National
Party Congress, to implement the strategy for invigorating
China through science and education, this Action Scheme is
formulated in order to push forward educational reform and
development in a comprehensive way and to improve the
quality of the whole nation and enhance its innovative
capacity.
With the advent of the new
era of reform, opening up and modernization, Mr Deng
Xiaoping emphasized time and again, science and education
have become the kev to the achievement of socialist
modernization with education as the very foundation. At the
great moment when the new century is dawning President Jiang
Zemin pointed out with penetration, "In today's world,
scientific and technological progress marked by the
advancement of information techno1ogy happens with each
passing day. The speed at which high-tech achievements
transform into actual productive forces has become all the
faster. The emerging knowledge economy betokens the coming
of new and enormous changes in the socio-economic life of
mankind. "I the approaching 21st century, since
knowledge economy with high-tech at the core will dominate,
the comprehensive strength and international competitiveness
of the nation will increasingly depend on the level of
educational development and innovation in science and
technology and knowledge, and educational development will
remain a strategic priority. The extensive use of modern
information technology in education will engender profound
changes in the educational sector, and lifelong education
will be a requisite condition for both educational
development and social progress, At present, the governments
of many countries have made educational invigoration one of
their basic policies towards the 21st century, These trends
indicate profound changes in the scenario of education in
the future. We should lose no time in preparing to meet the
new challenges.
Since the Third Plenary
Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of CPC was
convened, education in China has scored remarkable
successes. Historical advances have been made in a nine-year
compulsory education and eliminating illiteracy among young
and middle-aged people. Vocational and adult education has
witnessed rapid advancement, the scale of higher education
is being steadily enlarged. Reforms of the educational
structure and of teaching practices are making progress in a
deep-going way; and the physical facilities and staffs of
educational institutions are being improved with concomitant
enhancement of the quality education. The basic framework of
educational legislation has taken preliminary shape. All
these achievements have laid a solid foundation for
invigorating education in the 21st century. However, the
educational development in our country is far from being
adequate. The structure and management system of education,
the prevailing concepts and methods, and patterns of human
resources development are yet to fit in with the demands of
modernization. At present and for some time in the near
future, the lack of creative talents of the highest caliber
is one of the major constraints unfavorably affecting the
innovative ability and competitiveness of the nation.
Therefore, to invigorate education is the objective and
pressing demand of socialist modernization and national
revival as well as a move to accommodate the needs of the
times. We will hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping
Theory, conscientiously follow Deng's strategic guiding
principle of "gearing education to modernization, to
the world, and to the future" , ands seize the
opportunity, deepen reforms , and advance with dashing
spirit to push forward education in China , full of vigor
and vitality, in its march towards the 21st
century.
The Action Scheme for
Invigorating Education Towards the 21st Century is our
blueprint for educational reform and development for the new
millennium. We must make overall planning with priorities
highlighted and implementation stressed. It has been
conceived as an instrument for implementing the Education
Law of the People's Republic of China and is an outgrowth of
the Guidelines for the Reform and Development of Education
in China. Overall planning, proper selection of priorities ,
grasping firmly the key issues and placing emphasis on
implementation constitute its salient
features.
The major objectives of this
Action Scheme are as follows:
It is
envisaged that by the year 2000 9-year compulsory education
will be made basically universal throughout the country, and
in the meantime, illiteracy will be basically eliminated
among young and middle-aged adults, and significant advances
will have been made in implementing suzhi jiaoyu (EQO
education) [translator's note's a term of high currency in
Chinese educational literature , which is tentatively
rendered as essential-qualities-oriented (EQO) education].
The system of vocational education and training and the
system of continuing education are to be improved so that
all new members of the urban and rural work force and all
people in employment will have unhampered access to
educational and training programs of all types and levels.
Higher education will be actively and steadily developed,
and the participation rates of the corresponding age cohort
in higher education will reach 11% or so. Targeting at the
objectives of the state innovation system, a group of highly
qualified and innovative professionals will be fostered
through training. Research and development will be
strengthened in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to
enable high-tech-based enterprises affiliated with
universities to contribute to the cultivation of new growth
points in economic development. Efforts will be made to
deepen reforms and establish a basic framework for a new
educational system that actually meets the needs of the
economic and social development of the
country.
Based on the overall
realization of the "two basic" objectives, that
is, the universalization of nine-year compulsory schooling
and the elimination of illiteracy among young and
middle-aged people, by the year 2010, upper secondary
education will have been popularized in urban and
economically developed areas by steps. The average duration
of schooling received by the Chinese people will catch up
with that attained by the more advanced developing
countries. University participation rates will approach 15%
with considerable enlargement of the scale of higher
education. Quite a few higher education institutions and a
number of key disciplinary areas or fields of study will
play or nearly play the role of first-rate institutions and
centers of excellence of their kinds in the world. A
lifelong learning system will be established in the main and
provide plentiful expertise support and knowledge innovation
to the state innovation system and the modernization
drive.
Implementing the
"Trans-century EQO Education Project" and Enhance
the Quality of the Nation
1. To realize
the "two basic" objectives as scheduled by the
year 2000 constitutes the "top priority" of
national educational u
Action Scheme for Invigorating Education towards the 21st Century
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