Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, has called for efforts to improve the quality and promote equality of basic education to satisfy the needs of the people.
Li gave an instruction to a national meeting on basic education held by the State Council in Beijing on July 29.
He said the country should optimize the allocation of education resources, provide more support for education development in poverty-stricken regions, ensure balanced development in compulsory education, and address such problems as children from impoverished families dropping out of school.
Efforts should be made to ensure children of migrant workers receive compulsory education in the locations where their parents work, develop preschool education, extend the coverage of high school education, promote Internet-based education services, enhance the security of schools and guarantee teachers' salaries, he said.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said it was necessary to faithfully implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on education and Li's instructions on the reform and development of basic education.
The country needs to speed up efforts to improve basic education, increase the supply of preschool education resources through multiple channels, and work hard to solve the problems of lack of basic education in rural areas and shortages of basic-education supplies in urban areas, as well as the issue of large classes, which contain more than 56 students.
China should continue to work on deepening education and teaching reform, improving the quality of classroom teaching, increasing education channels and services, and enhancing evaluation of education results, Sun stated.
Party committees and governments at all levels should make basic education a priority, take measures to implement the policies of the Chinese Government and strengthen the overseeing of schools, Sun added.
(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
