China Education News

Introduction

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held as we embark on a new journey towards the Second Centenary Goal, was a highly significant meeting. The session reviewed and adopted the Proposal for the 15th Five-Year Plan, setting clear requirements and making important arrangements for integrally advancing the development of education, science and technology, and talent; effectively addressing the pressing difficulties and worries of the people; running education that satisfies the people; and promoting well-rounded human development. To deeply study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session, a reporter interviewed Huai Jinpeng, Party Group Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Education.

01 Deeply Grasping the Significance, Connotation, and Systematic Plan for Building a Leading Education Nation

Reporter:​ How should we deeply understand the strategic blueprint for building a leading education nation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period outlined by the Fourth Plenary Session?

Huai Jinpeng:​ The important speech by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Proposal for the 15th Five-Year Plan adopted at the plenary session, focusing on coordinating the building of a leading education nation, a leading science nation, and a leading talent nation, deeply grasp the political, people-oriented, and strategic attributes of education, and provide a top-level design and strategic plan for building a leading education nation in the next five years.

We deeply recognize that educating people for the Party and the country is the original aspiration and mission of education. "What to cultivate, how to cultivate, and for whom to cultivate" is the fundamental question of education and the core issue in building a leading education nation. Fostering virtue and nurturing talent is crucial for ensuring the continuity of the Party's cause and the future destiny of the country. In this sense, education is of paramount importance to the Party and the state, and we must persistently provide a good answer to this "required question."

We deeply recognize that education, science and technology, and talent have become key elements supporting and guiding high-quality development. Looking at past major scientific and technological revolutions and industrial transformations, industrial upgrading relies on technology, technological development relies on innovation, and innovation supports sustained economic prosperity and modernization, with the most important foundation behind it being talent and education. The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical time for laying a solid foundation and exerting full effort to basically achieve socialist modernization. China's development conditions and growth models are undergoing profound changes. New quality productive forces have already taken shape in practice and demonstrated their strong driving and supporting force for high-quality development, and education is precisely the foundation and precursor for activating these new quality productive forces. We will deepen the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, accelerate the efficient application of major scientific and technological achievements, achieve effective synergy among innovative industries, capital, and talent, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of the national innovation system, and supporting and serving Chinese modernization.

We deeply recognize that running education that satisfies the people is an important foundation for a leading education nation. Currently, China's basic education has reached the average level of high-income countries worldwide, but imbalances and inadequacies still exist, requiring continuous efforts and strengthening. At the same time, changes in China's population and social structure pose new challenges for education. On one hand, the school-age population is peaking successively, leading to dynamic changes in educational resources—short-term insufficiency and potential long-term surplus. On the other hand, urban development is shifting from large-scale incremental expansion to a stage focused on improving existing stock and enhancing efficiency. New urban residents hope their children can attend good schools and receive a quality education close to home. In response to these changing circumstances, the plenary session put forward new requirements for running education that satisfies the people.

The strategic deployment for educational development in the 15th Five-Year Plan Proposal profoundly reflects both the "overarching" role of building a leading education nation in enhancing the overall efficiency of the national innovation system, and the "grounded" significance of running education that satisfies the people. We must resolutely implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent; we must actively respond to the people's new expectations for educational equity and quality; and we must move from the "small logic" of education's own development to the "greater logic" of serving the building of a modern socialist country and serving the well-rounded development of people, clearly defining our responsibility of the era and direction of effort.

02 China's Education Modernization Has Generally Entered the Ranks of Upper-Middle Income Countries

Reporter:​ How should we view the achievements in education during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and what foundation has been laid for future development?

Huai Jinpeng:​ During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's education achieved historic accomplishments and underwent transformational changes. All the goals and tasks established in the 14th Five-Year Plan were fully and high-quality completed. The modernization of education has generally entered the ranks of upper-middle-income countries worldwide, laying a more solid foundation and accumulating greater confidence for continuing the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

First, there were new breakthroughs in implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent. Guided by integrating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into curricula, textbooks, and minds, we promoted the synergistic development of ideological and political theory courses and curriculum-based ideological education, combined in-school education with off-campus practice, and advanced science/technology education alongside humanities education. An all-encompassing, whole-process, and all-round education system has been established. Adhering to "health first," we fully implemented a minimum of 2 hours of comprehensive physical activity per day for primary and secondary school students. Regions widely explored implementing 15-minute breaks between classes, gradually making the vision of students "with sweat on their bodies and light in their eyes" a reality.

Second, there were new breakthroughs in providing inclusive and quality public education services. By international comparison, China has built the world's largest and high-quality education system, providing a strong guarantee for children's equal access to education. All 2,895 counties achieved basic equilibrium in compulsory education. Support mechanisms for the education of migrant children and school-age children with disabilities were improved. The County High School Development and Enhancement Action Plan was launched to strive for providing high-quality high school education in rural and county areas. The gross enrollment rate for preschool education reached 92%, and the policy of free childcare and education for the final year of preschool, implemented this autumn, benefited over 12 million children. The gross enrollment rate for higher education reached 60.8%, entering the internationally recognized stage of massification.

Third, there were new breakthroughs in serving and supporting socio-economic development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, higher education supplied a cumulative total of 55 million graduates to society. Vocational education provided over 70% of the new high-quality, high-skilled talent for modern industries. We continuously strengthened the cultivation of top-notch innovative talent in basic disciplines through initiatives like the "Strong Foundation Plan," and advanced reforms in cultivating outstanding engineers and outstanding philosophy and social sciences talent. The National Basic Disciplines and Interdisciplinary Breakthrough Plan was initiated, leading disciplinary projects were deployed in major frontier areas, and the construction of regional technology transfer centers in universities, university science parks, new research-oriented universities, and advanced research institutes was coordinated to improve transfer and application efficiency.

Fourth, there were new breakthroughs in deepening comprehensive education reform. Basic education, driven by the revitalization of county high schools and coupled with explorations in senior high school entrance exam reform, changed the resource allocation model oriented solely towards advancing to higher education. Higher education promoted evaluation reform, historically breaking the restriction of awarding degrees based "solely on the dissertation" within the Outstanding Engineer Training Program. Reforms for better aligning talent supply and demand were advanced, with an annual updated list of urgently needed disciplines and majors, and the timely introduction of micro-degrees and micro-credits to adapt to economic and social development needs.

Fifth, there were new breakthroughs in building a globally influential education center. 36 "Luban Workshops," 8 Overseas Institutes of Outstanding Engineers, and 22 branches of the Global Institute for Teacher Development were established through global cooperation. China's National Smart Education Platform, covering 220 countries and regions with an international version in 6 languages, became an influential international public good in education. The UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education was established in Shanghai, providing a new platform for international cooperation to promote educational transformation.

03 Focusing on Task Breakdown, Strengthening Investigation and Research, and Meticulously Organizing Implementation

Reporter:​ Please introduce the overall approach and specific measures for implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session, planning reforms and development for the "15th Five-Year Plan," and accelerating the building of a leading education nation.

Huai Jinpeng:​ At present and for some time to come, deeply studying and implementing the spirit of the plenary session and the 15th Five-Year Plan Proposal is an important political task for the education system. Reviewing the "14th Five-Year Plan" and planning for the "15th Five-Year Plan," we should focus on implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent, with accelerating the construction of a high-quality education system and achieving high-quality development as the theme. We will concentrate on independent scientific and technological innovation and self-reliance in talent cultivation, meticulously plan a number of major strategic tasks, major policy measures, and major engineering projects, focus on task breakdown, strengthen investigation and research, and meticulously organize implementation. Specifically:

First, fully implement the "Number One Project" of fostering virtue and nurturing talent. Place the "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" course in the primary position, implement the new-era curriculum plan for ideological and political theory courses, and build a large-scale practical education classroom. Building an independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences will be a key support for fostering virtue and nurturing talent. We will strengthen research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories, produce a batch of original textbooks, and enhance the supply of original theories. Sports and cultural activities will be widely carried out, pilot health schools will be established to promote students' physical and mental health development.

Second, accelerate the self-reliance in cultivating top-notch innovative talent. Focus on promoting the classified reform of higher education institutions, simultaneously building and utilizing the National Big Data Platform for Talent Supply-Demand Matching, and optimizing the structure of disciplines and majors. In strategically crucial and frontier fields like artificial intelligence and integrated circuits, we will explore new models for cultivating top-notch innovative talent, further deepen reforms in cultivating outstanding engineers, and adopt special measures to bring together faculty and resources from universities, enterprises, research institutions, and innovation platforms to form interdisciplinary teams and attract and cultivate outstanding talent. Focusing on six key advanced manufacturing sectors, implement a cluster cultivation plan for high-skilled talent.

Third, promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. Implement the Basic Disciplines and Interdisciplinary Breakthrough Plan, build National Interdisciplinary Centers, and use deep disciplinary integration to catalyze major breakthroughs in basic theory, allowing universities to better play their role as the main force in basic research and the source of major technological breakthroughs. By building regional technology transfer centers, advanced research institutes, etc., and joining forces with local governments, financial sectors, industries, and enterprises, we will address bottlenecks in the scientific and technological achievement transformation chain. We will encourage and guide young scientific and technological talent to take the lead and shoulder major responsibilities, and continue to implement support programs for the scientific research innovation capability of young faculty in central universities.

Fourth, continuously improve the quality and level of public education services. Expand educational supply in urban areas with net inflows of school-age population, and strengthen the standardized construction of compulsory education schools and the provision of boarding schools. Implement the County High School Revitalization Plan effectively. Higher education needs qualitative improvement and quantitative expansion, increasing enrollment scale in high-quality undergraduate programs. Further implement the action to strengthen teachers by instilling the spirit of educators, caring for teachers in terms of compensation, benefits, career development, and other aspects.

Fifth, persistently deepen education reform and expand openness. Focusing on "breaking the five-only" tendency, continue to advance the evaluation reform allowing engineering master's and doctoral students to apply for degrees based on practical achievements, promote the comprehensive reform of the college entrance examination (Gaokao), and accelerate explorations for senior high school entrance exam reform. Continue to implement the education digitalization strategy action, using technologies like AI and big data to create future teachers, future classrooms, future schools, and future learning centers. In terms of high-level opening up of education, by building the "Study in China" brand, international summer school programs, international big science plans, etc., we will further enhance the capacity for global talent cultivation and aggregation, and play a better leading role in global education governance.

Source: 《人民日报》2025年11月23日

Reporter: 吴丹

URL: https://data.people.com.cn/rmrb/20251123/3