On April 2, the National Institute of Education Sciences (NIES) hosted the initial meeting to review the implementation of “Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) ” -- (hereafter referred to as the Outline).
The meeting was attended by NIES President Cui Baoshi, Deputy President Liu Guihua, Director Zhang Yan the General Office of the Department of Comprehensive Reforms at China’s Ministry of Education (MOE)etc. Vice President Liu Guihua chaired the meeting.
Zhang Yan briefed on the significance of the assessment and made four recommendations: 1) the review should be problem-oriented, and respond to current issues in educational reform and development in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, 2) it should be reform-oriented, attach great importance to the reform of educational systems and mechanisms, and contribute to the modernization of educational governance systems and capacity, 3) it should be future-oriented, closely connected to the future planning of educational development and reform, and provide policy-making references for the development of the National Educational Development Plan of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, and 4) it should be result-oriented, and be seen as an opportunity to carry out high-quality research.
President Cui Baoshi called the review a sublime mission, noting those undertakings bore huge responsibility. He said it highlighted the trust the Communist Party of China and the MOE hold in the NIES. He further explained the overarching goal of the review was to summarize the development of socialist education with Chinese characteristics – including basic experiences and patterns– since the implementation of the Outline, and to provide suggestions on how to advance China’s educational reform and development. Cui said the institute’s research centers should shoulder their responsibility and attach great importance to this project – he added their work should be thorough, efficient and targeted, and be guided by scientific design and systematic planning. He said, in the course of their work, the research centers should abide by quality standards and carry out their work in an open, determined and coordinated manner. He asked the institute to write reports based on the 1+X mode (which incorporates general reports and thematic reports) and aim to finish the standard third-party review report by the end of May, and the detailed general report, thematic reports by the end of September.
A comprehensive review of the implementation of the Outline in its last year marks an extension as well as an end to the development of the Outline. The NIES has put great emphasis on this work. At the initial stage, it established a leading group and nearly 20 research teams, and approved institute-level research projects. With arrangements made and a competent team in place, the institute will endeavour to meet its targets in a timely and effective manner.
Staff from the Department of Research Management, research centers and core groups participated in the meeting.
