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Education must reach all: Wen

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-05 07:41

Premier Wen Jiabao has urged education policymakers to devise practical schemes to ensure that the poor have equal access to education.

Policymakers should consider regional economic imbalances and differences in urban and rural residents' incomes, while working out education schemes, he told the State Council in late August. His speech will be published by the People's Daily for the first time on Monday.

An urban-rural income disparity exists despite the country's great economic achievements, he said, and hence, policies should be based on reality and help the poor to get proper education.

Urban-rural developmental imbalances and the large migrant population, too, should be taken into account while formulating education policies, he told the meeting, which approved a 12-year (2009-20) education plan.

Education has a "far-reaching impact" and is the "cornerstone" of national development, he said.

To meet the economic challenge and tackle structural economic problems, the country must rely on scientific and technological progress and raise the quality of its workforce.

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To ensure that people have equal access to education is not only in public interest, but also meets the demands of economic and social development, he said.

The premier urged policymakers to carry out "systematic" and "consistent" education reforms, calling for pilot programs to test the feasibility of education plans.

The other factors policymakers should take into account are demographic, industrial and employment structures, Wen said, stressing that vocational education is crucial to economic development and job-creation because workers with practical skills are needed desperately.

"The country should arrange the scale and subjects of vocational education in line with social demand," he said

Students can attend vocational schools to learn specialized trades.

Those passing out of such schools are popular with employers because they have practical skills and can be employed on lower wages compared to college graduates.

But despite their knowledge and dexterity they do not enjoy high social status. Such prejudices, Wen said, should be discarded, and vocational school graduates should get better pay and respect.

Speaking on education reform, Wen said curricula should not only reflect students' abilities and social needs, but also reduce their study burdens.

"Our focus in teaching is still 'instill' instead of 'inspire'. Apart from imparting knowledge, teachers should also teach students to think, live and get along with others. That is the aim of our education reform."

Wen dealt with other key issues, too, including college education, school system, teachers' development and expenditure on education.

The 12-year education plan, which Wen called "a tough mission", has been drawn up in consultation with experts and reflects the suggestions of school officials, teachers, students and parents.