Ministry of Education: "During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, strong guarantees will be provided for basic education."

The State Council Information Office held a series of themed press conferences on the high-quality completion of the "14th Five-Year Plan". A reporter from CCTV asked a question on the topic of "Building a fair and high-quality basic education". Deputy Minister of Education Wang Jiayi introduced that China's basic education has a huge scale, with 460,000 primary and secondary schools and kindergartens, 230 million students, and 15.95 million full-time teachers. Pre-school education now has strong legal guarantees. By the end of 2024, the gross enrollment rate for the first three years of preschool reached 92%, with 91.6% of children able to attend inclusive kindergartens. The vast majority of children can now study in inclusive kindergartens. Compulsory education is moving towards high-quality balance. In 2021, 2,895 districts and counties nationwide achieved basic balance; by the end of 2024, another 246 districts and counties achieved high-quality balance. Through measures such as school grouping, exchange of backbone teachers, and pairing assistance, regional disparities have been reduced, enabling weaker schools to have good teachers. At the same time, the Ministry of Education is making great efforts to solve the problem of schooling for migrant children. The proportion of migrant children studying in public schools and schools subsidized by the government has exceeded 97%, an increase of 11.2 percentage points compared to the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan". Continued efforts are being made to ensure education equity through the Sunshine Enrollment Action. The conditions for running ordinary high schools have significantly improved. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, a total of 104.6 billion yuan in central funds were invested to expand the resources and improve the conditions of ordinary high schools. The overall situation shows a good trend of "one decrease and two increases", with a significant decrease in the proportion of classes with over 56 students, and an increase in the average school building area per student and the value of teaching equipment. The gross enrollment rate in high school reached 92%. The level of special education guarantee has significantly improved. In order to allow disabled children to share the dream of studying under the blue sky, we adhere to special education and special treatment. Through various methods such as inclusive education, studying in special education schools, and home schooling, we tailor precise solutions to solve the problem of disabled children's access to education. By the end of 2024, the enrollment rate of compulsory education for disabled children nationwide reached over 97%. The per capita public funding subsidy standard for special education students in compulsory education has been raised to 7,000 yuan. The first national resource center for children with autism has been established.