Prime Highlight
- China’s Ministry of Education has begun a large-scale two-year program to build national model schools focused on sports, arts, national defense, legal education, and language promotion.
- Selected schools will receive government support and, after assessment, will be officially recognized, with their best practices shared nationwide.
Key Facts
- The initiative includes creating 9,000 sports and health schools, 5,000 aesthetic education schools, 4,000 national defense schools, 300–400 law-based governance schools, and 300 language promotion schools.
- Schools can apply from October 30, with provincial-level submissions due December 8, and regular monitoring will ensure compliance.
Background
China’s Ministry of Education has started a major two-year program to set up national model schools across the country. The program will focus on five key areas of education. The plan aims to improve school standards and promote high-quality development in sports, arts, national defense training, legal education, and language promotion.
According to the ministry’s latest notice, the program will create 9,000 sports and health model schools. These will include campuses focused on youth soccer and traditional Chinese sports. In addition, the government plans to develop 5,000 aesthetic education model schools along with 200 supporting bases. The initiative also includes 4,000 national defense education schools, 300 to 400 law-based school governance model schools, and 300 schools dedicated to language application and promotion.
Schools that meet the eligibility criteria can begin submitting online applications starting October 30. Local education authorities will review the applications and forward recommended candidates to provincial-level departments. These departments must finalize their selections and submit them to the Ministry of Education by December 8.
Local governments are expected to support the selected schools by strengthening faculty, training talent, and offering necessary funding. After the two-year period, the ministry will assess the schools, publish the results, and formally recognize those that meet the standards as national model schools. Their best practices and successful methods will then be shared nationwide.
The ministry will also conduct regular quality monitoring of all designated model schools. Institutions that fail to maintain required standards will be asked to make improvements within a set time. Schools that do not meet the expectations, even after corrections, risk being removed from the program.
