Third, choosing high-quality primary and middle schools is popular among parents. They spend large sums of money for school choice, creating a large financial burden for them during the nine-year compulsory education period and for non-compulsory high school.

Promoting fair education was a basic policy both at the national working conference on education and in the outline.

The outline says that the government should ensure fair development for education from kindergarten to the college level, as well as lifelong education.

Given the high public demand for kindergartens, the outline says that the government will actively develop public kindergartens while supporting private ones. By 2020, China will popularize one-year preschool education, and nearly popularize two-year preschool education. In areas with mature conditions, China will popularize three-year preschool education.

The outline urges the development of preschool education especially in rural and poverty-stricken areas, and recommends that children whose parents work in urban areas be placed in kindergartens.

The outline also promises that children of migrant workers will be able to sit the high school entrance exam in areas where their parents work, a step which would go far to give those children equal opportunities for education.

After having exempted primary and middle school students from paying tuition and fees in recent years, China will by 2020 achieve regional balanced development through the reasonable allocation of education resources, including teachers, equipment, libraries and dormitories.

To solve the school choice problem, the outline says the government will speed up the renovation of weak schools and improve teachers' teaching level. The country will encourage children to enter schools near their homes, while at the same time developing private schools to provide more opportunities for students to select their own schools.

China also plans to expand compulsory education from nine years to 12 years, which means high school will be compulsory by 2020.

Well-rounded education

China's test-oriented education system has long been criticized. "Children in China have been pressed into the same model from primary school to high school," Wei Yu, former vice minister of education and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at a recent symposium at Tsinghua University.

"Education in China just cultivates tools to make GDP, which is not beneficial for the healthy growth of children," economist Mao Yushi said in the Yangcheng Evening News. "China's test-oriented education and lack of innovation discourages the cultivation of Nobel Prize winners."

Some people even call test-oriented education "China's education cancer."

As a result, the outline focuses on improving education quality, so as to cultivate graduates who can contribute to China's development and meet the needs of society.

Reform in senior high school will include offering elective courses, providing opportunities for students to conduct research, encouraging students to take part in community service, and meeting the needs of students with different talents and potential.

China also plans to build world-class universities with a competitive edge by 2020 to cultivate a professional class with moral character, rich knowledge, and professional skills.

China's outline for education development in the coming decade is of great significance for increasing its talent pool, meeting public demand for sound education, and building a moderately prosperous society that benefits a population of more than 1 billion.

(Source: Chinanews.com)