Jiangsu has attached great importance to education throughout the ages. Historically, from a total of 212 Best Scholars from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 66 Best Scholars were from Jiangsu, representing more than one third of the total. Since the implementation of the current National School System; the first textile school, the first embroidery school, the first school of opera education, and the first school for the deaf and dumb in the country have been established in Jiangsu.

In recent years, Jiangsu has insisted in giving equal priority to the development of all types and levels’ education, which has resulted in rapid yet sustainable development. In the published Guidelines on Jiangsu Mid-and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development Planning 2010-2020, Jiangsu will focus its efforts on building a province that aspires towards providing the very highest levels of education and leading the nation in educational modernization.

Objectives for Jiangsu Education

In 2010, both Guidelines on National Mid-and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development Planning 2010-2020 and Guidelines on Jiangsu Mid-and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development Planning 2010-2020 were published. According to these guidelines, until 2015, the key indicators of Jiangsu educational development are as follows:

Measures for Jiangsu Education over the next five years:

· Achieve a well-balanced and high-standard development of basic education: Accelerate pre-school education, enhance the quality and balance of compulsory education, encourage all senior high schools to improve upon its programs, ensure that students with special needs receive adequate assistance and instruction, and ensure that the staff and administrative support of all educational institutions are of top-quality.

· Further develop the vocational education system: Perfect the vocational education system, strengthen the sustainable development capability of vocational education, and ensure that the students are in an environment that will allow them to discover and cultivate their individual skills and talents.

· Enhance the quality of higher education. Continue the rapid construction of outstanding universities and ensure that universities are offering challenging, top-quality classes and services that will prepare students for the professional world.

· Promote the concept of a life-long education. Vigorously encourage continued learning and establish community education programs in the city and in the countryside.

· Enhance the quality of teachers and professors. Ensure that teachers receive excellent professional training, hire only the finest and most talented professors for institutes of higher education, increase the percentage of teachers in rural areas, and ensure a good workplace environment and fair compensation.

· Promote an open-minded approach to learning. Offer more opportunities to study abroad, increase the amount of international influence on Jiangsu’s education system by increasing the number of foreign students, and help students develop internationally valued talents and qualities.

International Cooperation and Exchange: Cooperative Programs between Chinese and Foreign Universities

In 1983, Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University co-established the Centre for Sino-American Cultural Studies, which began enrolling students in 1986. The Centre for Sino-American Cultural Studies became one of the first programs between a Chinese university and an overseas institution of higher learning to offer a mutual exchange of students. In 2006, the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, cooperatively established by Xi’an Communications University and Liverpool University in Suzhou, also started to enrol students. Up until now, the number of cooperative institutions and programs in Jiangsu has reached 348; 334 are at the higher education level and have enrolled over 60,000 students in the past 5 years.

Over the next five years, Jiangsu will continue to focus on establishing relationships with even more renowned universities from around the world with the intention of developing more cooperative programs. It strives to build 3 universities, 5 departments, and 50 programs with foreign universities in the next few years, and it aims for 15% of courses in vocational institutions to be connected with international professional certificates.

International Students

Jiangsu was one of the first provinces of China to admit international students. Programs for international students have continued to grow over the years in accordance with Jiangsu’s general development mantra of “expansion, quality and environment.” In 2010, there were 14,142 students from 164 countries studying in higher learning and research institutions in Jiangsu. In addition, about 9,000 primary and secondary-level foreign students came to study in Jiangsu as well. In 2010, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government established the Jasmine Jiangsu Government Scholarship to further attract and encourage international students to study in Jiangsu.

By 2015, Jiangsu aspires to have at least 30,000 international students studying at its universities, and it hopes to become the most coveted destination in China for international students. By this year, Jiangsu hopes to make strong advances and improvements in the study-abroad programs it offers to ensure that all international students receive the best experience during their stay in Jiangsu.

Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

Jiangsu has also built a solid foundation for promoting the Chinese culture and language overseas. Thirteen universities in Jiangsu offer strong programs specializing in teaching Chinese as a second language, making it one of the leading provinces in the nation to offer such a program. Today, the province has 16 primary and secondary school bases, 18 Confucius Institutes, 5 Confucius Classrooms, and 1 Jiangsu Centre for Chinese Studies set up around the world to teach Chinese. The province has also branded many programs and textbooks to assist in teaching the Chinese language and culture.

In the next five years, Jiangsu hopes to further the construction of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms overseas. It plans to develop 20 Confucius Institutes and 50 Confucius Classrooms overseas in hopes that these institutes will serve to encourage and facilitate educational, cultural, and economic exchanges between the Jiangsu Province and other foreign nations in the future.