The mutual shaping of technological advancement and social transformation has brought a significant historical opportunity for building a learning society in the digital age. At the National Conference on Education, President XI Jinping emphasised to thoroughly implement the national education digitalisation strategy, expand access to high-quality educational resources, and enhance public services for lifelong learning.
It was outlined in the 2024 – 2035 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education to thoroughly establish a “ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system” to fully establish a learning society” by 2035 and to place a key emphasis on advancing the digitalisation of lifelong education. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and eight other departments jointly issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Advancement of Educational Digitalisation (“Opinions”), which introduce important measures to “accelerate the development of a public service system for lifelong learning” and provide operational framework and foundational pathways for leveraging digital tools to empower lifelong education and build a learning society for all.
A ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system serves as the foundational cornerstone for building a learning society. The Opinions call for“the promotion of a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system,” which emphasised to redefine the essence and scope of the education system through educational digitalisation. This will foster an educational ecosystem characterised by multi-stakeholder collaboration, diversified learning formats, multi-channel delivery, and multi-scenario applications, which will ultimately create a new lifelong education system that covers both urban and rural areas, benefits all citizens, supports learning throughout the life span, integrates vertical and horizontal connection, and blends online and offline learning seamlessly.
Digital infrastructure and public service platforms for lifelong education serve as the technological backbone of a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system. The Opinions mentioned to “strengthen the digital infrastructure for a learning society,” leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as advanced AI models to optimise digital infrastructure and to create immersive and interactive learning environments that integrate various learning spaces and enable new hybrid learning scenarios that combine both virtual and physical experiences. The Opinions also advocate for the development of the Lifelong Education section on the Smart Education of China Platform, the Platform’s iterative upgrades guided by “3I” approach of “Integration, Intelligence, and Internationalization”, the realisation of connectivity between national and local platforms and the promotion of the comprehensive and deep application of the national platform across the country at all levels. Furthermore, the Opinions propose the creation of a comprehensive resource system covering family education, continuing and community education, education for the elderly, and vocational skills enhancement. This system should be smart, high-quality, and diverse, built around core curriculum content and supported by intelligent learning services, thereby strengthening the public-service capacity for lifelong learning.
A lifelong learning system serves as the vital institutional safeguard for building a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education framework. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed “to provide greater support for lifelong education." From a global perspective, over 160 countries and regions have established or adopted qualifications frameworks, providing robust institutional support for the development of lifelong learning. China must accelerate the establishment of a nationwide lifelong learning promotion mechanism, achieving breakthroughs in the following areas, such as legal protections for lifelong education, mechanisms for social participation, learning incentive systems, technical support structures, and funding guarantees. The Opinions call for the expedited release of national qualifications framework standards and the establishment of a national credit bank to facilitate the seamless integration between degree and non-degree education. The Opinions also stress the need to move faster to develop systems for recognising learning outcomes, as well as the active exploration of new learning forms aligned with lifelong learning, such as micro-majors, micro-credentials, and course-based master's programmes, along with a new system for digital diplomas. These efforts aim to foster the integration of vocational, higher, and continuing education.
The public service system for lifelong learning serves as the supporting framework for a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system and a key embodiment of developing education that meets the people’s expectations. The Opinions call for “accelerating the development of a public service system for lifelong learning,” highlighting the role of digital empowerment in breaking down administrative barriers, educational silos, and in bridging resource gaps across urban-rural, regional, and demographic divides. In doing so, it will provide equitable and high-quality public services for lifelong education, thereby supporting Chinese modernisation through high-quality human capital development. The Opinions also propose “accelerating the establishment of a new model of the national digital university,” taking advantages of China’s unique national system, pooling domestic resources and strengths from its whole education system and international excellence, and harnessing the momentum of digitalisation and intelligent technologies. It advocates for a development approach that is globally competitive, strategically aligned with national priorities, distinguished by digital and intelligent features, oriented to leveraging strength for development, and driven by branding. This initiative will meet the needs of all learners for lifelong capacity enhancement, foster collaborative innovation among all parties, and explore the construction of future schools, classrooms, and learning centres. The ultimate goal is to shape a new paradigm of higher education that blends “AI and education”, and secure a leadership position for China in global digital education. The Opinions further propose to “improve the system of the Open University of China (OUC)”. Over the past 45 years, OUC has pioneered a path for the development of a new type of university which is rooted in the vast land of China and well-suited to the national realities with Chinese characteristics. It has enrolled 25.72 million students of higher degree education, and provided public educational training for over 2 billion people. The university system should continue to serve as a key force in building a learning society by integrating digital and intelligent technologies to advance comprehensive reforms in open education and enhance teaching quality. It should give equal emphasis to degree and non-degree education, promote the innovative development of community education, and support the development of learning-oriented cities and communities. Lastly, the Opinions emphasis the importance of “enhancing the development of the Seniors University of China (SUC).” This involves refining the development systems and institutions of SUC (OUC) and accelerating its role as the "main channel" for elderly education, the "strong guide" for proactive health, and the "catalyst" for the silver economy. The aim is to fully meet the learning needs of China’s 310 million older adults. Through digital empowerment, we will ensure that everyone can enjoy lifelong learning opportunities and join hands to shape a new vison for a learning society.
Source: China Education Daily