China's Ministry of Education (MoE) recently published a circular about key work for increasing the use of IT in education in 2015. China will ensure internet access for most students in both urban and rural schools, to establish an informatised learning environment and give every student access to high-quality education resources. Key measures highlighted in the plan are as below:

  • To achieve the school informationisation target set in the 12th Five Year Plan - providing internet access to most primary and secondary schools, and ensuring that each school has at least one set of multi-media facilities
     
  • To further enhance MOOC development and management
     
  • To further develop online learning spaces among teachers and students
     
  • To further enhance teachers’ capability in using information technology through high quality teacher training
     
  • To select and set up a group of demonstration institutions for best practices in using information technology in teaching and learning
     
  • To further develop the China Open University's “Cloud Classroom” project, especially in the less developed central and western areas of China
     
  • To further develop digital education resources in the basic, vocational, further and higher education sectors
     
  • To enhance international cooperation in education informatisation by introducing high quality overseas resources and expertise
     

Analysis by Liu Jing, Assistant Director Education Marketing

Education informatisation is on the priority agenda for the Chinese government as a key measure to enhance education quality and equality. International cooperation was highlighted in the circular, which is a good sign for UK institutions who want to play a role in this area in China. The plan covers all fields of education at all levels of schools and institutions. There will be market opportunities for various types of online courses and learning platforms (e.g. MOOCs) and teacher training programs addressing China’s needs. It would be most effective to conduct relevant marketing work in close partnership with Chinese institutions and organisations, such as the China Open University which was specifically mentioned in the circular. A large number of students in China already study online, with 6.1 million web-based undergraduates in 2013 according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Source (in Chinese): http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s3342/201503/184892.html