Authoritative Interview|Deepening the Comprehensive Reform of Education and Running an Education that Satisfies the People——Interview with Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Education

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 1 (Xinhua) -- Deepening the Comprehensive Reform of Education and Running an Education to the Satisfaction of the People -- An Interview with Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Education

Xinhua News Agency reporters Xu Zhuang and Shi Yucen

When education is prosperous, the country is prosperous, and when education is strong, the country is strong. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-style Modernization, which was deliberated and adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, proposes that "education, science and technology, and talents are the basic and strategic support for Chinese-style modernization", and makes a series of arrangements for deepening the comprehensive reform of education.

What has been the effect of the comprehensive reform of education since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of How to promote the integrated reform of the system and mechanism of education, science and technology, and talents? How to make solid progress in the tasks of deepening the comprehensive reform of education? Xinhua News Agency reporters interviewed Huai Jinpeng, secretary of the leading party group and minister of the Ministry of Education.

Let the fruits of education development reach all people more and more equitably

Q: How do we understand the results of the comprehensive education reform since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China?

Answer: Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has put education in a strategic position of priority development, made a series of major arrangements for deepening the comprehensive reform of education, basically established the main framework of the socialist education system with Chinese characteristics, and entered the ranks of the world's top countries in the development of education modernization.

The first is to build the world's largest and high-quality education system. In 2023, there will be 498,300 schools of all levels and types in mainland China, with 291 million students enrolled in academic education and 18.92 million full-time teachers. The popularization of pre-school education and compulsory education has reached the average level of high-income countries, and higher education has entered the stage of universalization recognized by the world, achieving a historic leap.

The second is to speed up the completion of educational shortcomings. We have actively promoted test-free enrollment in the vicinity, standardized enrollment in zoning, and sunshine supervision, and 2,895 counties across the country have achieved a basic balance in compulsory education. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the student financial aid policy system has achieved "three full coverage" of students with financial difficulties in all school stages, all schools and all families with financial difficulties, with a total of 2.6 trillion yuan in funding and 1.62 billion students in funding. Vocational education continuously improves the ability to serve the all-round growth of people and the combination of economic and social development.

Third, the ability of education to cultivate talents and innovate in science and technology has been significantly enhanced. From the perspective of talent training, 11 million college students are sent to the main battlefield of economy and society every year, of which more than 50% are science, engineering, agriculture and medical talents. From the perspective of scientific and technological innovation, the construction of "double first-class" universities in mainland China has made remarkable achievements: in the ESI ranking, 22 Chinese universities and 39 disciplines rank among the top 10,000 in the world; In the annual Nature Index list, mainland universities surpassed United States for the first time and ranked first.

These achievements have laid a solid foundation for better meeting the people's expectations for fair and high-quality education. At present, the shortcomings of the "quantity" of education are no longer the main aspect of the contradiction, and the improvement of "quality" has become an urgent requirement.

Smooth the virtuous circle of education, science and technology, and talents

Q: The "Decision" proposes that education, science and technology, and talent are the basic and strategic support for China's modernization. How to promote the integrated reform of the system and mechanism of education, science and technology, and talents?

Answer: The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) put the integrated reform of the system and mechanism of education, science and technology and talents in an important position, which fully reflects the characteristics of educational reform from partial and individual reform to systematic and overall reform. In the field of higher education, we will improve the mechanism for the integration of science and education, industry and education, smooth the virtuous cycle of education, science and technology, and talents, and focus on three major types of reforms.

Focus on the improvement of talent self-cultivation ability——

First of all, it is necessary to build core courses, publish core textbooks, establish infrastructure and practical projects required for internships and scientific research and innovation, and strengthen the training of teachers around the core competencies required by different disciplines and different majors. Secondly, in the face of the development trend of science and technology and the urgent needs of national economic and social development, we should promote the cultivation of basic research talents, and at the same time promote the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. Third, we should promote the reform of colleges and universities by category, and accelerate the establishment of a discipline adjustment mechanism and talent training model driven by scientific and technological development and national strategic needs. Fourth, we need to strengthen the synergy between science and technology education and humanities education.

Focus on supporting high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance——

First of all, it is necessary to strengthen the training of young scientific and technological talents. Advocate long-term support in terms of policy and resource allocation, and implement a long-term evaluation mechanism, so that young scientific and technological talents can truly "sharpen a sword in ten years". Establish breakthrough programs in basic, interdisciplinary, and emerging disciplines; Support the construction of a special zone for the development of young talents.

Focus on serving the national economic and social development strategy——

First of all, in terms of technology transfer and transformation of university scientific and technological achievements, the goal orientation of serving the country's economic and social development and serving scientific and technological transformation is more prominent. Second, strengthen the construction of innovation mechanisms and innovation networks, and promote the construction of regional innovation centers. Third, strengthen the construction of nodes, and establish technology transfer centers and achievement transformation centers according to the economic and social development levels of different regions, so as to promote the establishment of a national technology transfer network. Fourth, we need to strengthen policy support and talent support, and actively promote openness and cooperation.

It is better to meet the people's desire to "go to school well".

Q: How to continue to enhance the people's sense of gain and happiness for the reform and development of education?

Answer: After the people's demand for "going to school" has been satisfied, "going to school well" has become a prominent contradiction and problem in education at present. We will, in accordance with the requirements of "focusing on improving the quality of life of the people" put forward in the "Decision", strive to run an education that satisfies the people, and promote the all-round development of people and the all-round progress of society.

-- Strive to better satisfy the people's desire to "go to a good school." The main measures are to promote the expansion and improvement of basic education, and accelerate the construction of a high-quality and balanced basic public education service system. We will explore ways to gradually expand the scope of free education, promote the universal and inclusive development of preschool education, and run boarding schools and small-scale rural schools. We will promote the reform of education methods and training models, promote the consolidation of the results of "double reduction" and the improvement of education and teaching quality, comprehensively improve the level of classroom teaching and after-school services, and strengthen the role of schools as the main front.

——Strive to make students grow and become talents, and the channel is broader. We will deepen the integration of vocational education and the integration of industry and education, accelerate the construction of a modern vocational education system, hold "less but fine" secondary vocational education, improve the core school-running capacity of higher vocational education development, accelerate the combination of vocational education and service economic and social development, and truly through the vertical and horizontal integration of the system design, so that students with different endowments and different development interests can learn effectively and diversify their talents.

– Strive to enrich lifelong learning resources. In accordance with the requirements that everyone can learn, can learn anywhere, and can learn at any time, strengthen the sharing of educational resources and the construction of public service platforms. Improve the national open university system, build a university for the elderly, and better promote the construction of a national digital university. At the same time, digital resources should be effectively integrated into the lifelong learning of the whole people to help build a learning society.

Accelerate the construction of a high-quality education system

Q: How to implement the various arrangements for deepening the comprehensive reform of education in the "Decision" in the next step?

A: We will adhere to the unity of goal-oriented, problem-oriented and effect-oriented, carry forward the spirit of nailing, solidly promote various reforms, and accelerate the construction of a high-quality education system. Specifically, we will focus on five aspects.

The first is to focus on improving the mechanism of establishing morality and cultivating people. Unremittingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to cast souls and educate people, and promote the integrated reform and innovation of ideological and political courses in primary and secondary schools. We will continue to deepen the student physical fitness plan, the school aesthetic education infiltration action, the labor habit formation plan, and the student mental health promotion action, etc., do a good job in the prevention and control of students' myopia, and carry out in-depth science education promotion actions and youth reading actions.

The second is to focus on optimizing the allocation of regional educational resources. Actively establish mechanisms for the supply of basic public education services that are in harmony with population changes, and improve mechanisms for promoting the quality and balance of compulsory education. Efforts should be made to build a team of high-quality and professional teachers, guide teachers to carry forward and practice the spirit of educators, and improve the long-term mechanism for the construction of teachers' ethics and style. In-depth implementation of the national education digitalization strategy and actions.

The third is to give full play to the leading role of higher education. In-depth deployment and strengthening of two "first and first trials": in the comprehensive improvement of the quality of independent training of talents, the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents; It is the first to serve the national and regional economic and social development and improve the "adaptability".

Fourth, we will focus on cultivating more high-quality technical and skilled talents, skilled craftsmen, and craftsmen of great powers. Focus on solving the essential problem of deep integration of industry and education, deepen the construction and reform of the provincial modern vocational education system, promote the pilot, demonstration and standard construction of the municipal industry-education consortium and the industry industry-education integration community, and form a good ecology of developing a community with a shared future and the simultaneous development of economy, society and education, and reshape the new system of vocational education development.

Fifth, efforts should be made to promote the opening up of high-level education. We will improve the strategy of opening up education to the outside world, make overall plans for "bringing in" and "going out", and accelerate the construction of an important education center in the world with strong influence. Strengthen international cooperation in education and scientific research, and encourage foreign high-level science and engineering universities to cooperate in running schools in China. Expand exchanges between Chinese and foreign youth, build a good Luban workshop, and continuously expand the "circle of friends" of Chinese education.