Material for the press conference of the State Council Information Office

SPEECH AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE

AT THE INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE STATE COUNCIL

DU Yubo, Vice Minister, Deputy Secretary of Leading Party Group, Ministry of Education

Friends from the press,

Good morning!

First of all, I would like to show my gratitude to you, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, for all the care and supports that you have been continuously offered to the cause of education of China.

In the recent days, the State Council issued the Implementation Opinions in Deepening Reform on Examination & Recruitment System (hereinafter the Implementation Opinions), which serves as a programmatic document guiding the reform on examination and recruitment system at present and for a certain time in the future, and symbolizes the all-round initiation of a new round of reform on examination and recruitment system. Now, I would like to make a brief introduction about the Implementation Opinions.

As the basic education policy of the nation, examination and recruitment policy enjoys a pivot role in the cultivation of talents, and is closely related to the development of the nation, the practical benefits of the families, and the future of hundreds of millions of young students. The Central Committee of Communist Party of China and the State Council both put high premium on the reform on examination and recruitment system. The third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China drew out a comprehensive outline. General Secretary XI Jinping, for quite a few times, stressed that it’s imperative to deepen reform, to promote education equity, to improve the criteria of talents cultivation and to meet with the demands in cultivating socialism constructionists and successors with an overall development in ethics, intellect, physics and aesthetics. General Secretary XI Jiping hosted a couple of meetings to deliberate on the topic, including the meetings of Leading Group for Deepening Reform Comprehensively, the conferences of the Standing Committee of the Central Politburo, the conferences of the Central Politburo. Premier LI Keqiang, in the annual work report of the government this year, stated clearly the importance of reforming examination and recruitment system in an active and sound manner. He asked for special reports centering on this topic, and chaired the executive committees of the State Council to review the report. Vice Premier LIU Yandong carried out special research for a number of times and held meetings of the Leading Group of National Education Policy Reform. The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with other relevant government departments, forcefully implemented the arrangements and requests of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, emphasized the problems and the crucial points of reform, summed up the experiences in practice in depth, extensively sought advices from the society, and continuously improved the Implementation Opinions after full argumentation and repeated modifications. So to speak, the promulgation of the Implementation Opinions is the outcome of wisdom of all sides.

The general positioning of the reform on examination and recruitment system is to promote equity and select talents in a scientific way. We must stick to the road of the socialist education with Chinese characteristics, fully implement the education policies of the Communist Party of China, carry out the fundamental task of strengthening moral education and cultivating talents and further improve policies to promote education equity and improve the talents selection. In 1977, the CPC Central Committee decided to resume the policy of college entrance exam, which changed the fates of millions. Over the past 30 years, the examination and recruitment system has been continuously improved and a relatively complete system has been set up, which has made historic contributions to the development of the students, the talents selection, and the social fairness and has played an irreplaceable role in enhancing education quality, improving the quality of the nation, accelerating social hierarchical mobility, and serving the national modernization construction. The whole set of policies, in principle consistent with the national situation, has been socially acknowledged in its authority and fairness, and thus should be abided by for a long term. Nevertheless, there are still certain issues of great social impact, including students’ overall development hindered when academic score is of the top priority, Students heavily burdened as their futures are decided by a single test, wide discrepancies in the schooling opportunities between urban and rural areas, primary and secondary school choosing, cheats in implementing preferential policies in terms of adding academic scores and illegal acts in student enrollment. It is of necessity to deepen reform so as to eradicate such problems. With adherence to the college entrance exam as the prerequisite, the reform is to forcefully solve the prominent existing problems, better promote the healthy development of the students, select talents more scientifically and better safeguard social fairness.

The fundamental principle of the reform on examination and recruitment system is Four Insists. First, we should insist on the people-oriented principle and adhere to the law of education, put into practice the socialist core values, and cultivate socialism builders and successors with all-round development in ethics, intellect, physics and aesthetics. Second, we should insist on fairness as the top priority and ensure fairness and justice. We must improve rules and regulations, reinforce macro control, and effectively guarantee the fairness of examination and recruitment opportunities, the openness of procedures and the justice of results. Third, we should insist on the efficiency and science in the selection process, and improve the work of selection. We must create more options for the students and select talents in a more scientific way so as to ensure the proper implementation of exam and recruitment. Fourth, we should insist on the principle of overall planning and actively yet prudently carry forward the reform. The reform must be conducted in some pilot areas first and then extended orderly and steadily to the whole nation.

The goal of the reform on examination and recruitment system is to launch pilots of the reform on examination and recruitment system in 2014, to fully implement the reform in 2017 and, to establish a modern examination and recruitment system with Chinese characteristics by 2020. By then an exam and recruitment model featuring classified examination, comprehensive evaluation and multiple admission will have been in place, a system will have been improved to promote equity, select talents scientifically and supervise forcefully. A “cross bridge” for life-long learning that connects all kinds of education and acknowledges various types of study results will be built.

The reform on examination and recruitment system has five main tasks. First, the enrollment quotas must be optimized and promote fairness to opportunity. Second, the form and content of exams must be reformed in order to better guide quality-oriented education and ensure the healthy growth of students. Third, the enrollment and admission policies should be reformed. Acts of preferential policies in terms of deduction in academic scores, and of independently managed enrollment must be standardized and more forms of study be extended. Fourth, the supervision and management system must be reformed. Information disclosure should be enhanced and efforts to investigate and punish illegal acts be further intensified. Fifth, pilots of college entrance examination reform are launched, to explore diversified enrollment policies that are to integrate centralized college entrance exam, high school academic achievements and gross performance. Specific timetables and route maps of the reform measures mentioned above have already been proposed, aiming to solve the issues of great concern to the people.

Friends from the press, this reform on examination and recruitment system is the most comprehensive and systemic one since the resume of college entrance examination and the most important and complicated part in comprehensive education reform. I sincerely expect your support and suggestions. Let us make joint efforts to promote the implementation of the reform on examination and recruitment system.

Thank you!

Now, my colleges and I are ready to answer your questions.