Guangming Daily:

Currently, there is an increasing demand for quality education. How can we narrow the education gaps between urban and rural areas, regions, schools and groups through deepening reforms so that every child can enjoy equitable and high-quality education? Thank you.

Mo Gaoyi:

Mr. Huai Jinpeng, please answer the question.

Huai Jinpeng: 

Thank you for your question! Ensuring every child has access to fair and quality education is essential for developing education with a people-centered approach. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, all 2,895 county-level administrative units in China have achieved a basic balance in compulsory education, and the level of education accessibility has seen historic progress. Preschool and compulsory education have reached the average level of high-income countries globally. Looking ahead, we will prioritize high-quality development as the lifeline for all levels and types of education. We will integrate the promotion of fairness into every aspect of comprehensive educational reform. We aim to drive a fundamental shift from simply "having schools to attend" to ensuring children are "attending good schools." We will focus on deepening four major reforms:

First, we will emphasize expanding, optimizing and improving the supply of high-quality educational resources in resource allocation. We will make forward-looking arrangements based on changes in the school-age population, optimize the regional allocation of educational resources, and establish a basic public education service supply mechanism that aligns with population changes. We will improve the mechanism for promoting high-quality and balanced development in compulsory education, deepen school group management and urban-rural paired assistance, and foster the growth of new high-quality schools, creating more "good schools" recognized by the public.

Second, in education and teaching, we will focus on student-centered approaches, strengthen quality education and promote the all-around development of all students. We will carry out the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. We'll continually improve the relevance and appeal of the political education curriculum. Additionally, we'll enhance students' interest in sports, aesthetic abilities and work habits. Comprehensive mental health education will be widely promoted to support students' healthy growth. We will continue advancing the "double reduction" reform. This initiative aims to relieve students of excessive burdens from homework and off-campus tutoring, enhance classroom teaching quality, improve after-school services and strengthen the cultivation of core competencies. We will improve the collaborative education mechanism among schools, families and society. We'll enhance the care system for children living with their migrant worker parents in cities, left-behind children and children with disabilities. Our goal is to create a supportive environment across society.

Third, in terms of guarantee mechanisms, we will emphasize respecting teachers and valuing education, and build a high-quality, professional teaching force. We will further improve the teacher education system with Chinese characteristics and thoroughly implement the "National Outstanding Primary and Secondary School Teacher Training Plan." By leveraging world-class universities and world-class disciplines, we will expand the scale of high-level primary and secondary school teacher training. We will encourage outstanding principals and teachers to teach in rural and underperforming schools, improve guarantee and incentive mechanisms, and support teachers to teach in these schools effectively and play a leading role.

Fourth, in developing new pathways, we will emphasize digital empowerment and leverage new advantages in smart education. Digitalization of education is an effective approach to narrowing educational gaps and improving education quality. We will thoroughly implement the national strategy for digital education, strengthen and utilize the national smart education public service platform, and promote the widespread sharing of quality educational resources. We will vigorously advance the construction of smart campuses, develop AI-powered educational models tailored for China, and explore large-scale personalized and innovative teaching methods to better meet the public's demand for "good schooling."

That concludes my response. Thank you!