Material for the press conference of the State Council Information Office

Speech at the Press Conference of the State Council Information Office

(Feb 13, 2014)

Mr. Liu Limin, Vice Minister of Education

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very delighted to attend this press conference. First please allow me to brief you on issues concerning the Opinions on Comprehensively Improving Conditions of Disadvantaged Compulsory Education Schools in Poverty-Stricken Areas.

I. Background

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to the development of compulsory education in rural areas. The 18^th National Congress of the Communist Party and the Third Plenary Session of the 18^th  Central Committee of the Communist Party have set out clear goals for promoting education in rural areas. In January of this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council released Several Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening the Reforms of Rural Areas and Accelerating the Modernization of Agriculture, further emphasizing the missions of promoting equitable access to basic pubic services in urban and rural areas and speeding up improving basic education infrastructures and supplies of disadvantaged compulsory schools in rural areas. Central government leaders have also emphasized the importance of providing quality compulsory education in rural areas and promoting education equity.

Over the past years, with the efforts of governments at various levels, the development of education in rural areas has made remarkable achievements. We have gradually guaranteed the funding for compulsory education, better managed the layout of schools and implemented a series of key projects, including the national safe school-building project for primary and middle schools, the renovation project for disadvantaged compulsory schools and the renovation project for junior middle schools in rural areas. Through such efforts, the infrastructure of rural schools has been improved. However, in poor rural areas such as contiguous poverty-stricken areas, key areas under the poverty alleviation program of the central government and ethnic minority and border areas, economic development is relatively slow. As a result, relatively high cost for providing education, poor teaching facilities, inadequate basic infrastructure of boarding schools such as dormitories and canteens, problematic operation of village primary schools and teaching points and  unstable teaching faculty have become the weak point of China’s compulsory education.  This is also our major task and difficulty in promoting balanced development of compulsory education.

In order to facilitate the development of compulsory education in poverty-stricken areas as soon as possible, and to effectively narrow the regional and rural-urban gap of educational development as well as the gap between schools, and to promote education equity, the Ministry of Education, the State Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, under the guidance of the State Council, promulgated the Opinions on Comprehensively Improving Conditions of Disadvantaged Compulsory Education Schools in Poverty-Stricken Areas in the end of 2013 based on extensive investigation.

II. Major Tasks

The Opinions promulgated by the three ministries is closely concentrated on the promotion of urban-rural integration and balanced allocation of educational resources in rural and urban areas, with the policy preference granted to the rural or remote areas, poverty-stricken areas, and ethnic minorities inhabited areas. Six tasks have been specified.

Firstly, the basic teaching conditions should be guaranteed. Classrooms should meet standards and be equipped with necessary teaching tools and appliances, textbooks and materials, and qualified desks and chairs. Sports facilities and field should be installed in line with local conditions.

Secondly, living conditions in schools should be improved. Each boarding student should be ensured with one bed. Bathing and showering equipment, dining halls or kitchens, hot water supplies and drinking facilities, as well as toilets should be installed to meet actual demand. Heating apparatus for winter should be installed in schools in northern part and frigid areas of the country. Safety devices should be installed for teachers’ and students’ safety.

Thirdly, teaching points in rural areas should be well managed. Preferential policies in terms of teacher allocation, teacher welfare and public funds for students should be given to support teaching points that should be kept in place.

Fourthly, oversized classes should be reduced in counties and towns. We should first reduce the size of classes with over 66 students by adjusting the layout of schools, building new schools for new communities, and expanding and modifying existing schools.

Fifthly, IT application should be improved. Currently village schools and teaching points have been equipped with receivers and players for digital educational resources. In the future, broadband network, digital educational resources and network learning space should be improved gradually. Meanwhile, information system for education administration such as student registration should be put in place.

Sixthly, the quality of the teachers should be improved. Mechanism for supplying sufficient new teachers should be improved in rural areas and headmasters and teachers should rotate among public schools. We should reform the training of teachers so that village primary school teachers will be able to teach more than one subject and junior middle school teachers can have expertise in one subject as well as some knowledgeable in other subjects. Meanwhile, some preference should be granted to village teachers with regard to training opportunities, promotion, salary, etc.

For the next step, we will have an overall arrangement and set up an effective working mechanism for enhancing the implementation. I am confident that the Opinions will play an important role for comprehensively improving conditions of disadvantaged compulsory education schools in poverty-stricken areas and developing standardized compulsory education. To further bridging the gap of rural-urban education development would provide the public with qualified compulsory education even in villages as well as better exploit the development potentials of poverty-stricken areas and promote the national unity, which would enhance social harmony and stability, common prosperity and development.

Now, I would like to take this opportunity to answer your questions on improving conditions of disadvantaged compulsory education schools in poverty-stricken areas.