The UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education, jointly established by China and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2015, has delivered tangible benefits to over six million girls from 19 countries, become a snapshot of China's efforts to strengthen international education cooperation, and marked one of major breakthroughs made by the country in the building of a global education center.
Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng make the remarks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) on progress in accelerating the development of China into a leading country in education during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing on September 23.
According to Huai, China has built education cooperation relations with 183 countries and regions, set up education cooperation mechanisms with ASEAN and central Asian countries as well as the BRI partner countries and opened 36 Luban workshops in relevant Asian, European and African nations. China has hosted the World Digital Education Conference and other high-level international meetings, founded the Institute of Global Teachers Development and implemented the "Deep-Time Digital Earth" program and several other international science projects. These efforts fundamentally bolstered the influence of China's education in various aspects as an international center of education during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).
The press briefing also underscored domestic students' physical and mental well-being. Vice-Minister of Education Wang Jiayi said the ministry has attached great importance to students' physical and mental health, rolled out a nationwide action on further improving their physical fitness, extended class breaks, and required students to have two-hour sports exercises each day in a drive to address myopia, obesity and mental health issues among minors and promote their all-round development.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has carried out a myopia prevention and control action to curb the excessive use of electronic products among children and teenagers in kindergartens and primary schools and upgrade lighting facilities on campus, making steady progress in the enhancement of their eye health.
In addition, the Ministry of Education has launched a special campaign to reinforce the supervision of school meal quality and safety and upgrade cafeteria facilities. It has also implemented an initiative focusing on students' mental health and created a four-tier system involving health education, supervision and early warning, counseling services and intervention to reduce the incident rate of mental health problems among schooling children.
(Source: China Women's News/Translated by Women of China)
Editor: Lei Yang
