Economic Observer Online
March 25, 2011
Translated by Qi Changlong
Original article: [Chinese]

The tone for Beijing's educational reform over the coming decade was set yesterday with the municipal government releasing an official plan for the development of the city's education system up until 2020.

Compared with the draft plan that was released in October last year, 30 changes have been made to the final "Outline of Beijing's Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development" that was published yesterday.

Of these 30 modifications, there are 4 significant changes: an increase in the official target for working people with a higher education degree, the encouragment of the development of private pre-schools within a dual public-private preschool education system and the optimization of the allocation of educational resources - a vague term that refers to making sure that schools have enough space to build additional infrastruture, that preschools are located near where people live and that the kind of majors offered at universities is developed in collaboration with industry groups.

The fourth major difference between the final plan and the earlier draft is that the plan no longer addresses the issue of allowing children of non-local residents to sit the university entrance exam in Beijing, effectively meaning that they are unable to attend high school in the capital.

The failure to address this issue, is nothing short of "a step backwards," according to Xiong Bingqi, the deputy head of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

Xiong argued that the earlier draft reflected a positive attitude to exploring ways for residents without a Beijing hukou could receive high school education in the city, unfortunately, the fact that this was omitted from the final plan, has revealed the Beijing municipal government's lack of resolve in addressing the difficult problem.

Mr. Xiong went on to say that "the central Ministry of Education should reform current policies related to high school entrance and college entrance exams and re-evaluate how education resources are distributed. In doing so, practical plans should be made to guide the local governments."

When the draft plan was first released for public comment last year, it drew a lot of public attention.

Those in the support of the policies included in the draft plan, claimed that when it came to access to high school education in Beijing, temporary residents should be treated no differently from local students.

However, others argued that Beijing didn't have the resources to offer high school education to all students.

An English-language report on the CRI website quoted The Beijing News as reporting that the Beijing municipal government plans to ensure and further improve compulsory education for the children of migrant workers and noted that compulsory education for children of migrant workers has been included in a section on financial protection in the plan.

However the report also noted the absence of any mention related to high school education for the children of migrant workers.

Links and Sources
Economic Observer Online: 北京教改纲要颁布 未涉随迁子女在京读高中问题 (Chinese)
CRI: Beijing to Guarantee Compulsory Education for Migrant Children
Beijing Municipal Commission of Education: "Outline of Beijing's Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development" (Chinese)

Beijing Municipal Commission of Education: "Outline of Beijing's Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development" DRAFT (Chinese)