China to shift focus from access to quality of education

China will increase the supply of high-quality educational resources, including optimizing the regional allocation to meet changes in school-age population, Education Minister Huai Jinpeng said in Beijing on Friday.

"We aim to shift from ensuring access to education to ensuring the quality of education," Huai said at a news conference held on the guiding principles from the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The compulsory education in China has achieved basic balanced development, reaching the average level of high-income countries worldwide, Huai said.

"We will prioritize high-quality development across all levels of education, involving fairness into every aspect of the comprehensive education reform," he said.

Huai highlighted that basic public education services should be provided in coordination with demographic changes.

The development of students' interest in physical activities, aesthetic abilities, and labor habits should be strengthened, while mental health education should be promoted, the minister said.

The ongoing "double reduction" reform, which aims to reduce students' homework and extracurricular tutoring during their nine years of compulsory education, will continue to improve classroom teaching standards and the quality of after-school services, he said.

Huai also emphasized the digital education as an effective way to narrow educational gaps and improve quality.

The Smart Education of China, a public service platform for digital education, will be effectively utilized to facilitate the widespread sharing of high-quality educational resources.

"In addition, we will develop a Chinese version of an artificial intelligence education model to explore large-scale personalized teaching and innovative instruction," he added.