On March 25th, the Ministry of Education (MOE) held its 2014 vocational education and continuing education conference in Beijing. With the theme of speeding up the construction of the employment-oriented modern vocational education system, the conference promoted the objective that vocational and adult education should advocate and implement the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress and the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, should implement the goals put forwarded by the government work report and the executive meeting of the State Council, and deepen the reform and innovation of vocational education and continuing education.
Lu Xin, Deputy Minister of the MOE, attended and delivered a speech at the conference.
The conference emphasized that the important position occupied by modern vocational education in the national talent cultivation system should be strengthened. The modern vocational education should be focused on improving quality, promoting employment, and encouraging development. Government should play a beneficial role in guidance, quality specification, and supervision. Social forces should be mobilized, and more resources should be dedicated to vocational education. The development of modern vocational education, which is in accordance with technical progress, transformation of production methods, and social public service, should be faster. Hundreds of millions of engineers, senior artisans, and professional talents of high quality should be trained. The door to success should be opened for young people. China's market competitiveness in innovation and manufacturing should be enhanced. The efficiency and quality of the economy should be improved. People’s various basic and material needs should be satisfied. What’s more, vocational education should benefit society by continuously cultivating talents.
The conference pointed out that vocational education and continuing education should mainly focus on the following aspects in 2014: It should implement all the objectives set out at the national vocational education conference. Transformational development of local undergraduate colleges and systematic construction of vocational education should be promoted. The quality of education of technicians should be greatly enhanced. Modern school system construction with the characteristics of vocational education should promote the scientific development of the investment in vocational education. Vocational education in rural areas, western China, and in minority regions should be developed. The digitization level of vocational education should be enhanced, and international communication and cooperation of vocational education should be bolstered. What’s more, continuing education reform and innovation should be pushed forward. Innovative development of the OUC and the transformation and upgrading of the Radio and TV University system should be promoted as well.
By Liu Bozhi