First China Basic Education Forum held in Nanjing

On December 5 and 6, the First China Basic Education Forum cum 33rd Annual Meeting of China Education Association was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Vice Minister of Education Zheng Fuzhi and Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province Ma Xin attended the opening ceremony and gave speeches.

Zheng pointed out that basic education was the foundation for all other levels of education. In the up-coming 14th Five-Year-Plan period, the following measures should be taken to improve the basic education system: 1) Improvement of education equity: more support for students from economically disadvantaged families, children with disabilities, left-behind children (who remain in rural regions while their parents leave to work in urban areas) and children with learning difficulties; 2) Strict implementation of curriculum standards developed by national-level competent authorities; 3) Prioritization of moral education and development of student life skills, to improve their perseverance; 4) Construction of a more open, diversified and energetic system to better motivate and support school administrators and teachers; 5) Implementation of pedagogical reforms to better encourage innovation and creativity in students; 6) Establishment of safe and well-disciplined learning environments conducive to protecting the health and safety of students.