2023 is an extremely important year for China's education, and "building a strong country in education" has become the most important keyword for China's education in 2023. At the same time, "ChatGPT" broke through at the beginning of the year, shocking the world, and also made us realize that artificial intelligence will inevitably subvert our education, so that we finally understand: in the future, artificial intelligence will first eliminate people who do not use their brains.
Of course, there is a certain misalignment in the education hotspots that the people are concerned about and the focus of the education cause, such as "ten minutes between quiet classes" and so on, which we must face.
In order to comprehensively review the keywords of education in 2023, we have put together these two keywords to try to give you a more comprehensive review of education in 2023: not omitting the significant, but also not avoiding social concerns, this is the whole picture.
01 Building a strong country in education
On May 29, 2023, the general secretary delivered an important speech at the fifth collective study of the 20th Political Bureau, comprehensively and systematically and profoundly expounded a series of major theoretical and practical issues such as what kind of education power to build and how to build an education power. **When presiding over the study, the general secretary emphasized that the prosperity of education leads to the prosperity of the country, and the strength of education makes the country strong. Building a strong country in education is the strategic precursor to building a modern socialist country in an all-round way, an important support for achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance, an effective way to promote common prosperity for all people, and a basic project to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization. This important exposition profoundly expounds the great significance of building a strong country in education, and gives education a new strategic position, historical mission and development pattern, which is of great strategic significance and far-reaching influence.
Starting from April 26, 2023, the Ministry of Education will frequently hold the Strategic Advisory Meeting on Building a Strong Country in Education and the Plenary Meeting of the Strategic Advisory Committee on Building a Strong Country in Education. A few days ago, at the 2023 year-end summary meeting of the Ministry of Education, Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Education, pointed out that over the past year, all departments and directly affiliated units have always put the study and implementation of the socialist thought with Chinese characteristics in the new era in the first place, and the understanding of the topic of the times of "building a strong country and what education is" has continued to deepen, and the consensus on what kind of educational power to build and how to build an educational power has become higher and higher.
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The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) expressed the trinity of education, science and technology, and talents, positioning it as the basic and strategic support for the realization of socialist modernization. Why?Because high-quality development is the primary task of realizing socialist modernization, how to achieve high-quality development?High-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement is the only way to achieve high-quality development. How to achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance?This requires relying on education, science and technology, and talent.
The most important thing is the cultivation of scientific and technological talents, especially the cultivation of top-notch scientific and technological talents, and the purpose is to provide support for the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance. This urgent strategic need reminds me of the beginning of the construction of New China and the adjustment of faculties at that time: the rapid training of specialized and technical personnel needed for the construction of New China.
02 chatgpt
Chinese Inventory 2023", ChatGPT was selected as the International Word of the Year. For the first time, ChatGPT was also included in the list of Science Person of the Year by Nature magazine "as an exception" "in recognition of the dramatic changes that generative AI has brought to scientific development and progress." Obviously, in the new round of changes triggered by ChatGPT, education is also at the core. Over the past year, ChatGPT has become a hot topic of discussion about the possible subversive changes in education and our attitude towards it.
Reviews
This is one of the events that has the greatest impact on education in the world this year, ChatGPT is a reconstruction of the way knowledge is organized, and does not produce new knowledge and ideas, but it will inevitably have a subversive impact on the form of education organization. Her appearance reminds us that artificial intelligence is the first to replace low-level, repetitive mental workers, and in the battle with machines, independent thinking is more important than anything else, otherwise it will inevitably be replaced by machines!
03 Adjustment of disciplines and majors
In April 2023, the Ministry of Education and other five ministries and commissions issued the "Reform Plan for the Adjustment and Optimization of the Discipline and Major Settings of General Higher Education", which clearly stated that by 2025, about 20% of the disciplines and majors in colleges and universities will be optimized and adjusted, a new batch of disciplines and majors that adapt to new technologies, new industries, new formats and new models will be established, and disciplines and majors that are not suitable for economic and social development will be eliminated.
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In 2023, there will be 11.58 million college graduates, plus returning international students, which is close to 80% of the new labor force, and China's employment problem has completely become the employment problem of college students. The employment problem is not an education problem, but a social problem and an economic problem, but education must do a good job in supply-side reform, that is, it needs to do a good job in cultivating talents for the society. On the one hand, it is to do subtraction and change the majors that some colleges and universities blindly have low operating costs but excess social demand, such as a large number of humanities, social sciences and art majors, on the other hand, it is to do addition, according to social development, especially the new format, add four new majors and interdisciplinary majors to meet the needs of social development.
04 Science Education Addition
In February this year, the general secretary pointed out at the third collective study of the Political Bureau of the 20th Communist Party of China that it is necessary to do a good job in the addition of science education in the "double reduction" of education, stimulate the curiosity, imagination and desire of young people, and cultivate young people with the potential of scientists and willing to dedicate themselves to scientific research.
In May 2023, the Ministry of Education and 18 other departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Science Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in the New Era", systematically deploying the addition of science education in the "double reduction" of education, supporting the integration of services, and promoting the high-quality development of education, science and technology, and talents.
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In recent years, we are all accustomed to doing subtraction, but in the face of the sinister international development environment, we must solve the technical problem of stuck neck, and we must solve the problem of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance, which is directly related to the cultivation of scientific and technological talents. We need to stimulate more young people's interest in science and technology from an early age, and at the same time, most of the natural sciences are precocious disciplines, and we need to discover and cultivate these talented teenagers early, at least provide them with the environment and soil for growth, rather than simply doing subtraction.
05 Top-notch innovative talents
On May 29, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China conducted the fifth collective study on building a strong country in education, and the general secretary of the Communist Party of China pointed out when presiding over the study, "further strengthen science education and engineering education, strengthen the independent training of top-notch innovative talents, and provide talent support for solving key core technology research in China". This is consistent with the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that "comprehensively improve the quality of independent training of talents and strive to create top-notch innovative talents".
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The top priority in the construction of an educational power is the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents, which has also become a high-frequency word in the education industry in 2023. I would like to think about this issue systematically, such as how to change the cap-type burden reduction in basic education and provide the environment and soil for top-notch talents to growHow can colleges and universities and middle schools open up channels and models for the early discovery and training of top-notch talents on the premise of ensuring fairness?In addition, how to face the reality that the college entrance examination is still centered on scores, and realistically strengthen the validity of the selection of science and engineering talents as much as possible?
06 Interim Measures for Administrative Punishments for Off-campus Training
From October 15, 2023, the "Interim Measures for Administrative Punishment of Off-campus Training" will be officially implemented. This is the first departmental regulation in the field of extracurricular education and training in China, marking a historic step in the governance of extracurricular training in China in accordance with the law.
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The introduction of this method has given us a basis for law enforcement, and its purpose is to standardize governance, not to exterminate everything, which is something that everyone needs to recognize. From this perspective, we may also need to solve some places where there is no clear gray space in the interim measures on the basis of a thorough understanding of the core idea of the double reduction policy, and where there is no unity of cognition, so that those who comply with the rules can operate boldly and those who do not comply with the regulations will be frightened.
07 Adolescent mental health
In April 2023, the Ministry of Education and 17 other departments jointly issued the "Special Action Plan for Comprehensively Strengthening and Improving Student Mental Health in the New Era (2023-2025)", marking that strengthening student mental health has become a national strategy, placed in a more prominent and important position, and made comprehensive arrangements for student mental health work.
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The rise of adolescent mental health to the level of national strategy reflects the deep impact of the problem. The causes of adolescent mental health problems are complex, and from one point of view, they are essentially problems with parenting styles. Parents' excessive attention to their children leads to excessive care, and at the same time, some of our educational concepts are also misleading education and parents, so that children can live in a virtual society: respect, individuality, become fashionable educational concepts, understand children, understand education has become our goal. Which is such an ideal in the real society?As a result, once the children face the cruel side of society, they immediately become uncomfortable in every way.
Therefore, to solve this problem, it may be necessary to start by dismantling overprotection, dismantling the virtual growth environment, and letting children experience everything they should go through from an early age, going through the trials and tribulations, rather than comprehensive protection.
08 Ten minutes between quiet classes
In 2023, the topic of "ten minutes between classes" has aroused widespread concern in the society. Many students, parents and netizens reported that some primary and secondary schools restrict students' recess activities, "not leaving their seats at will" and "not talking loudly, running and jumping".
In this regard, the relevant responsible comrades of the Ministry of Education said that it is very important and necessary for primary and secondary schools to arrange recess, which is conducive to students' regulation of emotions, relaxation, physical fitness and prevention and control of myopia. The Ministry of Education will further urge localities and schools to strictly implement relevant national regulations, follow the laws of education and students' physical and mental development, and resolutely correct the practice of simply restricting students' necessary recess and activities on the grounds of "ensuring students' safety".
Reviews
Ten minutes of quiet recess is something that everyone does not want to see, and the education department is also firmly opposed, but if it does not solve the root problem behind it: the safety responsibility of students on campus, and the magnification and even vexatious visits of some parents, this problem will exist for a long time. Under the chilling effect, schools and teachers can only do the bottom line prevention: do not move.
09 The high platform that can't get down
Education is not only a stepping stone, but also a high platform that I can't get off, and a long gown that Kong Yiji can't take off. In one sentence, it exhausts the current plight and embarrassment of the employment of some college graduates, and has attracted the empathy of a large number of young people.
According to statistics, the number of ordinary college graduates in the country in 2024 is expected to reach 11.79 million, an increase of 210,000 year-on-year. The Ministry of Education recently issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Employment and Entrepreneurship of 2024 National Ordinary College Graduates", proposing 26 measures to fully promote the employment of college graduates.
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When you go to college, do you put on a long shirt and stand on a high platform?Obviously, this conclusion is difficult to hold. We have entered the popularization of higher education, but our minds are still stuck in the era of elite education. In 2023, there will be 11.58 million college graduates, which is close to 80% of the new labor force if you add returning international students. The employment target for 2023 is only 12 million, and if the employment problem of college students is solved, all the employment goals will be completed. In other words, college students today only mean ordinary workers, and this is the reality of the popularization of higher education.
At present, the enrollment volume of universities has far exceeded the enrollment of general high schools + vocational high schools in 1998, and it is undoubtedly that they have put themselves on a high platform and trapped in their own robes.
10 Kindergarten closed
Newborns are declining, and kindergartens are the first to be hit. At the 2023 National Education Work Conference, Minister Huai Jinpeng pointed out that "it is necessary to deeply understand the urgent requirements of population and social structural changes for the adjustment of educational layout and resource allocation". According to the 2022 Education Statistics Bulletin of the Ministry of Education, there are 28 kindergartens in the country920,000, a decrease of 5,610 over the previous year, a decrease of 190%。This is also the first negative growth since 2008.
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In 2016, after the newborn reached a 20-year high, it was significantly lower, to only 9.56 million last year, **8.3 million, almost halved. China's demographic structure is undergoing a comprehensive and dramatic change, and education is directly affected. Now it has been transmitted to pre-school education, followed by primary school, then secondary school, and university. Universities enrolled more than 10 million students last year, and after 17 years, universities will also face the dilemma of having no students to recruit.
Our problem is how to balance the allocation of educational resources brought about by current and future demographic changes, how to meet the current peak of the school-age population, and how to take care of the precipitous decline of the future population and the waste of resources.
11 First degree
According to the "China Youth Daily", a graduate student of a "985" university encountered a "stuck neck" in his academic qualifications when he was looking for a job, because his undergraduate degree was not a "double first-class" university, resulting in his favorite job being unable to get him. There are many people who are frustrated by the "first degree" in job hunting, and the experience of academic discrimination has resonated and heated discussions among many young job seekers.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education has repeatedly emphasized that the concept of "first degree" has never been used in the relevant policies and documents of the national education administrative department.
Reviews
First, academic discrimination is suspected of violating the law or even violating the law, and we cannot deny that this practice does have its practicality in the efficiency of talent selection and recruitment, which is the fundamental reason for its endless growth. Why didn't it stand out in the past or even not, why is it everywhere now?Obviously, there are too many college students, and on the other hand, this is also the result of the popularization of higher education, and it is also the result of replacing social evaluation and talent evaluation with educational evaluation. If you want to solve it completely, you might as well start with the academic discrimination of the first employer, such as the restrictions on the graduation school of the selected students.
I also want to remind the public that while we criticize this discrimination, do we also have this discrimination in our own hearts?For example, many years ago, a well-known central enterprise hired an undergraduate student from Shaoxing University of Arts and Sciences among a group of graduates of Tsinghua University and Peking University, and there was an uproar and questioned its fairness and justice. Why?
12 Co-optation of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences
On November 22, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced the list of elected academicians for 2023. The Chinese Academy of Sciences elected 59 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering elected 74 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
After this co-election, the age structure and discipline distribution of China's academician team have been further optimized. The co-opted quota of academicians of the two academies is further tilted towards key fields and basic disciplines, emerging disciplines and interdisciplinary disciplines urgently needed by the countryTilt towards scientific researchers who have made outstanding contributions to national defense and national defense;It is inclined to scientific researchers who undertake major national scientific research tasks, major scientific and technological infrastructure construction and major projects and make outstanding contributions.
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According to statistics, more than 70% of the newly elected academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have overseas study backgrounds, which reflects from one side that studying abroad is still an important channel and path for our high-level talent training and growth. For some people who demonize studying abroad at the moment, we must resolutely say no!
13 University campuses are open
Recently, the "hurdle" entry of an associate professor at Peking University into the school has once again made the topic of whether the university campus should be open or not become the focus of public attention. According to **, since the Ministry of Education issued a notice in July 2023 to encourage colleges and universities to open their doors to the public, many colleges and universities have gradually opened their school gates.
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Everyone is calling for and even asking for schools to open their campuses, and if it's just from my personal point of view, I would like to see at least easy access to colleges and universities near my home, but that's a bit generous. Can we also open your home to the public?
On this issue, I resolutely oppose taking Western countries as an example for us at every turn, why are almost all units in China guarded and fenced, and they are not allowed to enter casually?More than a university!
University campuses are first of all to serve students and teachers, and to serve teaching and scientific research, whether they are open or not, we first need to ask the majority of students and teachers, they are the direct stakeholders, not the public. To be open or not to be open, leave it to the teachers, students and administrators of the school to make their own decisions, and we should respect it!
14 The number of applicants for graduate school has declined
According to the Ministry of Education, 4.38 million people will register for the national master's degree entrance examination in 2024, a decrease of 360,000 from 4.74 million in 2023. This is also the first decline in the number of applicants for graduate school entrance examinations since 2015, when the number of applicants continued to grow rapidly.
Reviews
There was no decent job after grad school, so everyone gave up. If you are just thinking about employment, it is better to work now, and more and more college students will graduate in the future. The decline in the number of applicants for postgraduate entrance examination shows that everyone is becoming more rational, and in the long run, it is more conducive to the development of postgraduate education.
This article is an original work of China Education.
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