In order to help build a country-wide lifelong-learning system, enhance public services and the inclusivity of community education, and find members of the public with professional training who are willing to act as teachers, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is working to promote community education through its Research & Training Centre for Community Education. So far the Centre has received interest from 30 provinces, and preparations have entered their second stage.

OUC teachers and students are welcome to participate in this stage and apply to submit featured courses and cases. In 2022, the Centre will work with local community-education institutions to create high-quality curriculum resources that are in line with people's needs, diverse, and easy to promote. It will also set up forums on the process of carrying out the project, as well as sharing of resources.

The themes of the initiative include: scientific literacy and internet learning, the use of information technology to teach older adults, family education and reading, rural revitalisation, intangible cultural heritage, morality and rule of law, humanities and the arts, health and fitness, life skills, community governance, and emergency management. 100 courses will eventually be available for each theme, and promoted throughout the country as community-education “Lectures by Competent People”. The courses will be available on online platforms such as the official website of the MOE and the official WeChat account of the Online Community-education Lectures.

Publicising the “Lectures by Competent People”

The MOE launched the initiative on 28 October 2021, and on 23 November 2021, Ju Chuanjin, vice president of the OUC and director of the Centre, introduced it to 31 provinces from the MOE, with a promotional film broadcast at the same time.

By Du Ruo and Li Huiqin, OUC