On the morning of 8 July 2021, the Reform and Development Department of the Open University of China (OUC) organised a special meeting to support the implementation of a pilot programme for the joint construction of Jiangxi Open University (Jiangxi OU) by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government.
The meeting aimed to implement the important task of “exploring a new model for the integrated development of open education, vocational education, continuing education, community education, and education for older adults in China’s central regions and old revolutionary areas” put forward in the “Opinions of the MOE and Jiangxi Provincial People's Government on Promoting the Comprehensive Reform of Vocational Education in the Province, Improving Quality, and Creating Excellence.” Ju Chuanjin, OUC vice president, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. Huang Pinghuai, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and president of Jiangxi OU; Liu Ping, vice president of Jiangxi OU; and the heads of relevant departments of Jiangxi OU and the OUC attended the meeting.
Huang Pinghuai introduced the participants to the situation of the pilot programme for the joint construction of Jiangxi OU by the MOE and Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government. On the basis of a feasibility analysis, major leaders from the relevant departments of the OUC put forward specific supportive measures for the implementation of the pilot programme from 13 aspects, including system construction, personnel training, information construction, resource construction, the Credit Bank, the construction of majors, scientific research, community education, education for older adults, ideological and political education, higher vocational education, a practical training base, and the teaching team. The participants said that they would actively promote the construction of Jiangxi OU, make joint efforts to build a model and benchmark for the high-quality development of open universities in China’s central regions and old revolutionary base areas in the new era, and develop Jiangxi OU into a hub of the lifelong education system in Jiangxi, a distribution centre for high-quality education resources, and a certification centre for learning achievements.
Ju Chuanjin pointed out that the pilot programme is the first cooperation between the MOE and a local provincial Party Committee and People’s Government in the field of open education after the release and implementation of the OUC Comprehensive Reform Plan, reflecting the importance attached to and support offered to open universities by Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and People’s Government. As a result, all involved should live up to the task entrusted to them by the Party and the government at all levels and the expectations of the people, and make joint efforts to develop open education. Relevant departments of the OUC should strengthen the ability to support and serve local open universities and seek a breakthrough in the institutional constraints of the OUC. They should also place emphasis on practical results and work creatively in combination with the real local situation, so as to contribute to China’s regional economic and social development.
Written by Liu Xueying and Qi Wei; Photos by Zhang Jun, OUC