Focus on education reform

2013-06-27 16:09

By (chinadaily.com.cn)

China's education system is far from perfect. The Ministry of Education is fully aware of this and has pursued reforms for many years. The recent reforms include schools using new criteria to evaluate students and migrant children being allowed to take the college entrance exam away from their hometowns. These measures are aimed at the long-criticized exam-oriented system and the unfairness of college admissions. However, China still has a long way to go before its education reform reaches satisfactory levels. This special report sheds light on the reforms in progress and more reforms to come.

No 1 Gaokao opened to migrant students

Migrant students can now take gaokao away from home

Migrant students were allowed on June 8 for the first time to take part in national college entrance exams away from their home regions, a move that officials say highlights efforts to boost equality in education.

Significance:

Although there are only a few thousand eligible migrant students among 9 million exam candidates, it highlights a leap forward in educational equality in China.

The policy will help candidates from areas with more intense competition move to areas with less competition. It is believed that the number of migrant exam candidates will increase every year after a period of adjustment.

No 2 New criteria for schools

China to assess schools with new criteria

A comprehensive system will be used to evaluate the quality of primary and secondary schools in China, which includes five categories and 20 criteria. The categories include ethics, study, physical and mental health performances, as well as the development of interests and specialties and workloads.

Five catagories of new criteria

Significance:

The new criteria changed the subjective evaluation for primary and secondary schools and can help every school develop its own direction of sustainable development.

The new assessment places more importance on evaluating the efforts of schools and the progress made by their students, while previous assessments had focused mainly on results.

No 3 Tougher management on teachers

Teachers ordered to raise moral awareness

The Ministry of Education has issued a statement ordering higher education institutions to strengthen moral education for teachers.

Related story:

China to tighten management of teachers

Significance:

Ethics is set to be the top priority in recruiting and rating teachers and intensifying efforts to reduce academic frauds. Ethical misdeeds can either prevent a candidate from being hired or lead to bad ratings.

Teachers will be compelled by academic disciplines and keep themselves away from words and deeds that could set a bad example for students.

Rural school pupils drop to 10-yr low

Many rural students suffer from the closing and merging of remote rural schools. Drop out rates for students in 2011 was 2.1 times that of 2006 because of increasing transportation and accommodation expenditures for parents.

Related story:

Rural education concern

Private schools need more support

Minister of Education Yuan Guiren called for more government support and opportunities for the development of private education to foster a sound and complete education system.

Blind to education flaws

To ensure China's continued and sustainable development requires urgent reform of its education system so as to promote innovation, which requires independent thinking and creativity, both of which the examination-oriented system fails to nurture.

Related story:

Be creative, children

Gaokao reform needs cooperation

Chinese higher-education institutions have reformed their enrolling systems in recent years. But the admission quota system, which is based on hukou, or residence permits, for gaokao, the national college entrance examination, has not changed yet. Make gaokao a fair test

Private educational institutions require new policies

Private educational institutions are reaching a new level of development, which requires a revised set of government policies and rules, national political advisers said.

Teaching students to think creatively

A survey of 21 countries highlighted that Chinese students tied for last place when it came to using their imagination and were fifth from the bottom in creativity. Chinese students finished first in math.

Reform pioneer

South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC) is widely regarded as the country's first test for a new educational system meant to give the students better training for innovative research.

China 1st 'autonomous university' opens in Shenzhen

A ceremony was held on Sep 2, 2012, to mark the opening of South University of Science and Technology of China.

'Innovation, reform' set pace at new school

"Reform and innovation are the essence of the university. In the future we will advance innovations with more boldness, courage and energy."

Unique university passes early test

A university with an innovative philosophy of education in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has won official recognition from the Ministry of Education.

Students at reform university refuse to take test

Students at the South University of Science and Technology of China are refusing to take the national college entrance examination.


	Yu Minhong: China's education doesn't teach children fundamental qualities, such as equality for everyone, independent personality and individualism, and it doesn't encourage free thinking and unlimited imagination. (Yu Minhong is president of New Oriental Education & Technology Group)	Yi Zhongtian: Chinese education takes personal success as the end, memorization as the way, continuing pressure as the means. No one cares whether kids are genuine, kind-hearted or healthy. (Yi Zhongtian is professor at Xiamen University)
Zhang Xin: How to push education reform? In my opinion, like economic reform, private schools should be encouraged, and exam-oriented model should be banned. (Zhang Xin is chief executive of Soho China)		Wu Peng：The Education Ministry should not only focus on fulfilling the political end of education, but should also emphasize students' physical and mental health and their all-around development. (Wu Peng is associate professor at Renmin University of China)
Fenyuan 9999: Chinese parents press their children to finish parents' unfinished tasks in the name of love and do not care about children's own interests. The current exam-oriented education encourages this kind of "kidnap".		Dorothy Jia: The biggest failure of education is single-dimension thinking. When the children grow up, they still judge things with the simple standard of good or bad, right or wrong.
Dajiangjun: Chinese education emphasizes theory instead of practice. Top students are just good at exams and are not top talents in society.		Jiangfengyuhuo: As a father, I can't be more familiar with the evil of exam-oriented education. Only if this model is banned can our children be happy.