Between September 11th and 14th, Minister of Education Chen Baosheng went on a field trip to Ninglang Yi Autonomous County in Lijiang City, and Lanpingbai Pumi Autonomous County in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, to inspect progress towards poverty reduction through education.
Chen visited a number of modern residential quarters built for people relocated from mountain areas, minority group primary and secondary schools, a shoe-making factory, the School of Tourism and Culture at Yunnan University, Lijiang Vocational Education Park and Lijiang Normal College, in order to investigate progress towards established goals, including balanced development of compulsory education, zero dropouts, one-on-one support to poor households, equal access to quality education for children from relocated households and poverty alleviation through local industries, among other things.
At a workshop, the minister heard briefings on poverty alleviation efforts in Lanping and Ningliang, and applauded local authorities for the significant progress achieved. He emphasized that the education system had a fundamental role to play in preventing intergenerational poverty. To this end, he urged that all future efforts be guided by the instructions of President Xi Jinping on poverty alleviation and education. He further noted that poverty alleviation must be implemented under the broader nation-wide strategy for rural revitalization, a key component of which was developing a modern education system to close the gap in the provision of quality education between rural and urban areas. In order to achieve integrated development of education, he prioritized four areas of work for the future: upgrade compulsory education from universal access to better quality and balance; elevate the status and quality of vocational education; improve young learners’ mandarin proficiency; and promote the sharing of quality educational resources.
Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, and Chen Shun, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province, accompanied the Minister in his field inspection. Jin Nuo, Secretary of the Party Committee of Renmin University of China, also spoke at the workshop.
