On the eve of Spring Festival, usually an occasion for family reunions, a lone, persistent figure stood on guard on the front line of epidemic prevention in Weiju Village, Wangji Street, Xinzhou District, Wuhan, protecting the health and safety of all the villagers. That figure was Wei Jianying, a graduate of the Open University of China (OUC) and secretary of the CPC Weiju Village Branch.
In this moment, there are many people like Wei Jianying fighting on the forefront of the battle against the outbreak of COVID-19.
In light of the outbreak, this was bound to be a special Spring Festival. Both on the frontlines and in the rear, everyone was engaged in the “war” against the epidemic, sparing no efforts to do what they could.
Faced with the epidemic of COVID-19, the OUC has taken quick action to put into effect the work allocation of the Party Central Committee, the State Council, and the Ministry of Education. By leveraging its advantages, the OUC has coordinated its educational system to assist in the battle against the epidemic.
Prevention and control of the epidemic is everyone’s responsibility
In order to put into effect the guiding principles of the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on winning the battle against the epidemic and to act in line with the work allocation of the Leading Party Group of the Ministry of Education on taking “due responsibility” and the initiative with targeted prevention and control measures,” the OUC convened a special video conference to curb the spread of COVID-19 in its educational system and to implement epidemic prevention and control.
During the video conference, six requirements for mass prevention and strict control in the OUC education system were put forward. The first is that Party members and political guidance should be the leading force; the second is to focus on small details so nothing slips by; the third is to make joint efforts to ride out this difficult period; the fourth is calmness in targeted prevention and control; the fifth is the full involvement of the whole system; and the sixth is scientific prevention and protection by each individual.
All the branches praised the video conference as “an example of how to arrange the current work allocation in a scientific way.” It has played a significant role in enhancing unity and confidence in order to overcome the current situation.
In the face of the epidemic, the Party members of the OUC have stepped forward and worked courageously on the front line of epidemic prevention and control. They have stood the test with their accountability, responsibility, and commitment.
When the Ministry of Education released a notification on 21 January asking the educational system to engage in COVID-19 prevention and control, many of the Party members of the OUC cancelled their travel tickets and set about the task of developing online courses on epidemic prevention. On the second day of Spring Festival (26 January), the Party Branch of the Department of Learning Resources took the lead in working overtime to gather together outstanding learning resources. Party members from several other departments, including the OUC General Office of the Party and Administration, the Department of Information Technology, the Publicity Department, the Publishing House and Media Group, the OUC Online, and Open Edutainment, worked together and launched a free learning platform on the fourth day of Spring Festival (28 January).
In addition to the headquarters, Party members from all the branches were also in action, undertaking the due responsibilities and missions of their position as a Party member.
Party member student Huang Wei from the Zhejiang Branch’s Pinghu School had been working on the front line of the battle against the epidemic as vice secretary of the village Party Branch. He was busy going door to door investigating the villagers’ movements, checking the village’s market of farm produce, and persuading villagers to give up gatherings such as weddings and funerals. He had taken no rest for days.
In order to mitigate the medical blood shortage in Qingdao, about 10 Party member cadres from the Qingdao Branch quickly responded to the call of the CPC Qingdao Committee and went to Qingdao Central Blood Station to donate blood on the afternoon of 3 February. The school was the first in the city to collectively donate blood during the contagion prevention period.
At the Chengdu branch, approximately 300 Party member students from rural areas went to the front line of rural communities for epidemic prevention and control. They visited each household to learn about the impact of the epidemic, organised and mobilised the villagers for mass prevention and treatment, publicised policies, and monitored temperatures. The villages were happy to see them hurrying about in the fields.
These Party members stood in the face of the epidemic, gave play to the exemplary and vanguard role of Party members, and practiced the due voluntary responsibility of a primary-level Party member. They have demonstrated the positive assumption of social responsibilities of people across the OUC and they have done their bit to win the people’s campaign against COVID-19.
The OUC system offers online learning after the postponement of the spring semester
In order to put into effect the prevention and control measures put forward by the Ministry of Education and “offer online learning after the postponement of the spring semester,” the OUC headquarters issued a notice on Prevention and Control of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic on the afternoon of 31 January, calling for the coordinated efforts of the entire OUC educational system in epidemic prevention. Though classes are suspended, learning can’t be stopped. The internet and other advantageous digital resources shall be used to make learning resources available to individual learners, the public, and institutions of higher education. Online learning resources should be provided in order to meet the needs of the public for diversified learning methods while they are confined to their homes.
The OUC’s learning platform is open for free access and students are encouraged “to learn online after the postponement of the spring semester.”
On the eve of Spring Festival (24 January), the OUC initiated the opening and sharing of its learning platform and online learning resources. The MOOC2U (www.mooc2u.com) was opened for free to those who need to improve their schooling and receive continuing university education together with several other universities and colleges. The OUC cloud education platform (www.worlduc.com), the OUC “Learning Resources Collection” platform, and the credit bank online platform (www.xueyinonline.com) were offered free to primary and middle schools, vocational schools, regular colleges, educational administration departments, and training institutions together with about 3,000 digital teaching materials and online ideological and political courses. So far, 39 colleges and educational institutions have applied to use the OUC “Learning Resources Collection” platform and courses, and 191 colleges and universities have applied to use the credit bank online platform and courses. The Chinese textbook simultaneous learning app “Little Learners” Chinese learning has been offered to kindergarten children and primary students nationwide free of charge. The OUC Secondary Technical School has selected quality secondary vocational education and teaching resources and is planning to give teaching support to teachers and students in secondary technical schools nationwide by providing 72 free online courses to assist educational administration departments and secondary technical schools all over the country to realise “offer online learning after the postponement of the spring semester” during the fight against the epidemic.
All the branches answered the call to “offer online learning after the postponement of the spring semester.” The Tianjin Branch provided its residents with online learning support by making use of Tianjin lifelong learning network (www.tjedu.cn) and WeChat. The Hebei Branch offered more than 50,000 free course resources, about 200,000 learning videos, and over 100 specialised courses through Heibei Lifelong Learning Online (www.hblll.com) and other distance online learning platforms. The Shanghai Branch has offered more than 100 open courses to the public for free, covering the six themes of humanities, art and design, preschool education, vocational skills, public security, and healthy life. The Zhejiang Branch, making use of Zhejiang learning network (www.zjlll.net) and the Study in Zhejiang app, has given online support to 408 colleges and universities inside and outside Zhejiang province through the provincial college’s online open and sharing platform module. The Jiangxi Branch has made Jiangxi provincial lifelong learning system free, including about 1.5 million minutes of video resources, 350,000 minutes of micro-lectures, about 880 MOOCs, and thousands of e-books. The Shandong Branch offered students support through the primary-level cadre degree education network (xljy.dtdjzx.gov.cn) and adult higher education learning platform (career.bjyzmo.cn). The Gansu Branch provided the students with multiple types and levels of online learning resources through Gansu community education network (gssqjy.gsrtvu.cn), Gansu e-learning resource centre (www.gserc.cn), and other platforms.
The OUC’s drive to “offer online learning after the postponement of the spring semester” has drawn attention from many major media and has been covered by China Central Television, Beijing Television, The Paper, Xuexiqiangguo (www.xuexi.cn), and Xinhua News (www.xinhuanet.com).
Set “the main tone” of scientific protection against the epidemic for different people
To encourage people to stay at home during the Spring Festival period, on the second day of Spring Festival the OUC started to serve the public’s self-protection at home by leveraging the strength of its digital learning resources.
The university launched mobile phone-based learning support for the “prevention and control of the epidemic with science and the enrichment of life with knowledge” by rapidly integrating its excellent resources. Fifty five-minute course series on the prevention and control of COVID-19 have been developed, including Getting to Know COVID-19, Rumour Destroyer: Can Eating These Things Really Wipe out the Virus? and Mental Health During the Epidemic. The MOOC course COVID-19 Prevention and Control has also been developed. High quality courses from the nursing major were opened to the public for free in order to help people throughout the country to fight against the epidemic in a professional, scientific way. On 31 January, more than 7,928 people studied online medical courses such as Nursing Basics within 24 hours of their launch. About 1,500 courses, including courses suitable for students of compulsory education and poplar science health courses for the public were chosen and recommended to China Education TV (CETV) for broadcast during the epidemic. The teaching team of Salute to the Masters: Claude Monet, part of the oil painting online training course, released A Proposal to All the Students of the Oil Painting Class calling on students to obey all the rules and regulations on epidemic prevention and control. The students are encouraged to spread positive energy with their brushes and palettes, to make psychological adjustment, and to enrich their life in their spare time. Having been united like this, the students have become more confident in the final victory over the battle against the epidemic.
The branches also coordinated resources to support the self-protection of the public at home. The Zhejiang Branch offered online psychological counselling support. The Jiangxi Branch took the initiative to introduce professional epidemic prevention courses and teaching resources on protection knowledge, and also promoted high quality lectures on psychological protection knowledge. The Shandong Branch served all the residents throughout the province via two online learning platforms, Shandong lifelong learning online (www.sdlll.net) and Shandong elderly learning online (lnjy.sdlll.net), and offered support for online teaching teams. The Hainan Branch spread knowledge on epidemic prevention and control through the televised night school platform and the special night school programme The People’s Campaign: A Victory for Prevention and Control in the Battle against the Epidemic was broadcasted on Hainan Economic Channel and Hainan Radio Station.
In order to meet the needs of elderly students for self-protection at home and diversified learning methods, the OUC Open University for Older Adults made a proposal for the "Happy Learning and Epidemic Prevention" joint action on 3 February. All of the provincial open universities for older adults and experimental schools for older adults were united to put together course resources on health care and epidemic prevention and launch the "Happy Learning and Epidemic Prevention" joint action for public welfare. The first 31 such provincial universities (including educational institutions for the elderly) and schools participated through the national platform for elderly education resources sharing and public service.
The MOE Research and Training Centre for Community Education located at the OUC opened the Community Education Lectures WeChat account, offering over 1,000 WeChat courses on science, arts, health, and life during epidemic prevention. To date, the courses have had about 32,000 page views. The community education guidance and service centres in Hebei, Henan, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangdong, Fujian, Chengdu, Tianjin, Gansu, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi have arranged online classes on mental health counselling and edutainment by making use of local online platforms for lifelong education. Teachers from Beijing’s Shijingshan District Community School and Wuhan’s Wuchang District Community School volunteered to offer classes in everyday English, calligraphy, guzheng (a 21-or 25-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither), and mental abacus calculation at the cost of their individual holidays, which brought community residents and students young and old and together to learn and develop.
Bring together the powerful strength of the OUC with “individual” efforts
“Who can go to Wuhan?”
“Me!”
Given without hesitation, these answers represent the courage and responsibility of the health workers marching against the epidemic.
Faced with the sudden epidemic, a group of “counter marchers” has emerged from among the OUC students. They are fighting fiercely against the brute force of the virus. They are the pride of their alma mater and the people as a whole.
Among them are He Shan, an undergraduate pharmacy major from the Handan Branch in the 2018 autumn semester, who has influenced infected patients with his optimism and confidence; Wang Yanjiao, a nursing major who graduated from the Shanghai Branch, who fully understands the gravity of her task; Liu Qiaomei, a nursing student from the 2014 undergraduate programme in the Wuhan Branch, who was still working hard on the front line side by side with her husband on the eve of Spring Festival; Xiao Ningning, a student majoring in nursing in the 2019 autumn semester undergraduate programme at the Sichuan Branch, who went to the front line in Wuhan with her sister-in-law and brother; Yang Linghua, a student in the 2019 spring semester undergraduate nursing programme at the Guizhou Branch and a nurse in the respiratory department of Guhang Guiyang Hospital, who left her two-year-old child and went to the front line without hesitation; Wang Shirui, a student of the 2019 autumn semester undergraduate nursing programme at the Qinghai Branch who went to the front line of the epidemic… These students fear no hardships and march forward courageously. Though they have different identities, they all share the same conviction: I will do whatever it takes to serve my country even at the cost of my own life.
They are protecting the world, and behind them are hundreds of people whose hearts go out to them.
Trucks of medical supplies keep pouring into Wuhan and medical assistance teams keep rushing to Hubei.
The OUC is duty-bound to assist in the battle against the epidemic. It has given play to the role of its overseas study centres, which have sourced materials and supported epidemic-hit areas with protective equipment and medical instruments. Open Edutainment, the OUC’s university-run enterprise, took quick action to make a call for donations, to channel the contributions to the right places and raise funds for the areas severely hit by the epidemic. To date, the university has collected CNY 647,500 and CNY 500,000 has been donated to five universities, including the Hubei Branch, the Wuhan Branch, Wuhan University of Technology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and Central China Normal University. 100,000 masks, 80,000 pairs of medical gloves, and 100 non-contact infrared thermometers have been sent to Wuhan from countries including of Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Nepal, and the region of Taiwan. They have been handed out to nearly 100,000 students in 65 study centres in Wuhan.
People from the OUC all over the country are supporting the battle against the epidemic in their own ways.
Wang Yan, a 2016 autumn semester undergraduate student of administration at the Qingdao Branch, an OUC outstanding alumna, and a model worker in Qingdao City, was on duty for eight days on the front line of epidemic prevention and control as a voluntary advocate.
Comrade Sun Fei, the first Party secretary sent by the Guizhou Branch to the front line of poverty alleviation, decided to stay in the village he was stationed in during Spring Festival to fight against the epidemic on the front line.
Though all of these people come from different cities and hold different positions, they have one common name: “fighters against the epidemic.” Although we are unable to record each of their individual achievements, this is just proof of the number of people who are out there. When the epidemic broke out, they rose up and marched for their country and people. They have safeguarded people’s health and acted on and interpreted the original aspiration and founding mission of the OUC with their actions and words.
This is a “battle” with exceptional hardships and dangers. The epidemic is ruthless but the people are not. Each and every member of the OUC people is doing what they can to help the final victory of the campaign in different ways. The OUC will earnestly carry out all of its tasks in line with the requirements of confidence, unity in times of difficulty, scientific prevention and control, and precise measures. We will leverage our advantages, strengthen cohesion, and work together with one heart. We will remain true to our original aspiration to serve the country through education, be courageous in undertaking this era-defining mission, and coordinate the OUC educational system to assist in the battle against the epidemic.
We are confident that love will disperse the haze of this winter and a bright spring will soon warm the cold land. We will once again see again the charming, smiling faces of others and experience real embraces. When the people have one heart, there is no mountain that we cannot climb; when people are heart to heart and hand in hand, there is no difficulty that we cannot overcome. Spring will return to the good earth to bless the country with prosperity and the people with peace.
By OUC Publicity Department