2018年CRI Fair and quality education for every child: education minister

 

China's education minister has said that the country will make more efforts to build world-class universities. Meanwhile he also vowed¹ to further ease the burden on Chinese students.

China's government has proposed a plan to promote world-class universities and disciplines through what it has called a "double world-class plan". 

Minister Chen Baosheng said priority will be given to central and western regions.

"In the near future, these universities will lead the way for education in central and western China. These universities are built by the ministry² and provincial-level authorities. The "double world-class plan" serves the needs of central and western China and China's higher education sector³ overall."

The "double world-class plan" aims to enhance China's educational competitiveness through the focused use of its best education resources.

The 2018 Times Higher Education university rankings for Asia were released in February, with around 100 Chinese universities on the list, highlighting the evolution of China's higher education system into one that is world class. 

But Chen Baosheng stressed that rankings and reviews should not be the sole criteria⁴ for assessing education quality.

"These rankings and reviews can be taken as references. But do not take them too seriously. They provide good perspectives for assessing the development of higher education. They help us find our weakness. But we must be confident in our strength. This is my attitude toward the rankings. We respect them but do not hold them to be the only gauge⁵. Our goal is to build world-class universities with Chinese characteristics."

Meanwhile, the Minster also spoke⁶ about tackling problems across the education sector, including finding ways to relieve the burden on students, something that has long been on the agenda.

"We should also alleviate⁷ the burden on students outside the campus. To that end, we need to regulate the education market. Commercial training agencies are a necessary supplement. But activities such as teaching lessons ahead of the school schedule and teaching without a certificate are violations⁸ of the rules. These agencies are teaching only for profit, which is a huge burden on students. We cannot allow such behavior." 

Chen said steps will also be taken to improve testing and assessment⁹ methods for students.

So far as preschool education is concerned, he said efforts will be made to increase the number of kindergartens and the rate of kindergarten enrollment¹⁰. 

He said the government is aiming to make high-quality and affordable¹¹ kindergarten education accessible to at least 80% of China's children by 2020. 

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。