Beijing, China, 26 December 2018 –organized The Seminar on “The Leap to Equitable and Quality Education: 40 years’ development of rural education in China” took place at Beijing Normal University, organised by UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (UNESCO INRULED), calling together academics specialised in the field or “Education and Rural Development”.

Theming on China’s past 40 years of explorations in the field of rural education, the seminar started with an opening remark by the director of UNESCO INRULED, Dr Ron ghuai Huang reviewing the development of education in the rural contexts both on the global arena and within China empowering the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. The Administrative Officer Dr Jing Liu, as the moderator of the Seminar, introduced UNESCO INRULED’s vision to share China’s experience employing education as a means to develop rural China and at the same time exploring education’s fundamental virtue to be shared for all. Project Officer, Junyu Huo then introduced UNESCO INRULED’s forthcoming report in the making “The Leap to Equitable and Quality Education: 40 years’ development of rural education in China” to call for ideas and comments from the academia.

To further delve into rural China’s transformations in both the formal and non-formal education landscape, four rural education specialists their keynotes speeches. Dr Guilin Yuan, the Executive Deputy Director of the Academic Committee Institute of Rural Education and Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Ministry of Education reviewed the transformation of the values within rural schools in China along the development path. Dr Yonggong Liu, the Professor and Managing Director of College of Humanities and Development Centre for Integrated Agricultural Development, China Agricultural University shared the retrospective of Chinese rural education from its contributions to the economic development of the rural contexts. Dr Lili Zhang, the Deputy Director at the Center for Chinese Ethnic Education and Multicultural Studies, Beijing Normal University from Beijing Normal University analyzed teachers ‘role along the journey approaching towards equitable and quality rural education. Dr Fuhai An, the Associate Dean/Professor at School of Education and Technology in Northwest Normal University, especially probed into teacher development in ethnic minority regions.

The Seminar has collectively reviewed the past 40 years of rural educational development in China and it serves as a platform to prepare concrete revisionary ideas for the publishing of the report “The Leap to Equitable and Quality Education: 40 years’ development of rural education in China”.