On 9 June 2023, the Open University of China (OUC) held a round table meeting on “Studying and Implementing the Guiding Principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's Important Speech at the Fifth Group Study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee” within its education system to advance the in-depth study of the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech and to hold exchanges on learning experiences, ideological understanding, and working ideas.
Cao Guoyong, executive deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee and deputy leader of the Leading Group of the Thematic Education Campaign, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. Seven secretaries, presidents, and professors from the OUC education system gave speeches and shared their experiences.
The meeting noted that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech emphasised the significance of making China a leading country in education, scientifically answered a series of major questions related to the construction of a leading country in education, and pointed out the direction of and provided a basic foundation for the construction of a leading country in education with Chinese characteristics.
Cao pointed out that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has held education as of being great significance to the future of the country and the Party, made important decisions and deployments to accelerate the modernisation of education and build a leading country in education, and secured historic achievements and structural changes in developing education in the new era. Open education has made irreplaceable contributions to the construction of a leading country in education. The open university has grown into an important part of higher education in China and plays an indispensable role in the national education system. In the face of the new situation, new tasks, and new requirements of building a leading country in education, the open university should take the initiative and have the courage to make accomplishments and shoulder greater responsibility on the new journey to building a leading country in education.
Cao pointed out that to serve the construction of a leading country in education, the OUC should uphold the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. We should adhere to reform and innovation and focus on developing ideological and political courses into the key to implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. Priority must be given to advancing the implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in work and practice and to make ideological and political courses more appealing by making them better quality. It is imperative to improve the political and ideological work of the university in the internet age. Work should be done to allow the internet play a more important and effective role in education in combination with the characteristics and advantages of open universities. Efforts should be made to develop ideological and political courses and to continue to educate the heart and foster virtue through Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. To serve the construction of a leading country in education, we should persist in the great mission of making first-class achievements. It is imperative to develop a group of brand disciplines and majors that match the reality of the advantages and disadvantages of open education and strive to have what others have not while improving education quality and core competence. It is imperative to consciously serve the national development strategy and regional economic and social development goals, strengthen the construction of disciplines with unique advantages and characteristics, and constantly improve the quality of personnel. It is imperative to further promote integration between industry and education and train high-calibre technicians, skilled workers, and master craftsmen. It is imperative to strive to cultivate a force of high-quality full-time and part-time teachers who can serve the innovative development of disciplines and majors with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It is imperative to uphold opening up as a major strategy and participate in the global governance of open and distance education and enable Chinese open education to be more globally influential. It is imperative to expand exchanges and visits, to introduce courses, teaching materials, teachers, and teaching quality supervision and guarantee systems, to carry out cross-border education cooperation, and to keep on deepening introducing overseas education resources and going global. Efforts should be made to build a team of open education teachers with international education skills and to try to make open education a new option for those who want to study in China. It is imperative to make smarter education an important support of the construction of a leading country in education. As a university supported by informatisation and digitalisation, the OUC should be a pioneer, demonstrator, and vanguard of smarter education and take the lead in implementing a digital strategy. It is imperative to promote the OUC’s digital transformation through the digitalisation of learning resources, teaching processes, examinations and evaluations, and management services. It is imperative to further increase investment to offer students more accurate and efficient service, to provide effective support for personalised learning, lifelong learning, and expanding the coverage of quality education resources, and to turn smarter education into the calling card of open education.
Cao underlined that earnestly studying and implementing the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech is a major political task and will remain so for some time to come. To continuously broaden the new vision and new pattern of open education reform and development, we need to plan and promote the development of open education within the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and amid profound changes unseen in a century. We should further emancipate our minds, deepen our understanding, seize opportunities, brave difficulties, and strengthen our sense of responsibility, mission, and urgency in accelerating the construction of a leading country in education. We should constantly come up with new ideas and new practical measures. We should make constant new achievements in translating the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech into a powerful driving force for the reform and development of open education, promoting further implementation of the thematic education campaign, making new contributions to building a society and country where lifelong learning is pursued by all, and making new achievements in building a leading country in education.
Source: OUC News Network
Reprinted by Official Website of the Thematic Education Campaign