China Focus: China delivering world's largest high-quality education system: education minister

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China is delivering the world's largest high-quality education system, with around 280 million students enrolled in some 440,000 schools, Education Minister Huai Jinpeng said on Saturday.

China's gross enrollment rate for preschool education stands at 92.9 percent, significantly higher than the OECD average of 84.7 percent, while the admission rate for senior high schools reached 92 percent in 2025, Huai told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing national legislative session.

The enrollment rate for higher education has more than doubled to over 60 percent since 2012, with 55 million students graduating from 2021 to 2025, Huai said.

Top-class universities in the country added 38,000 seats in the past two years. Over 540 new cooperative institutions and programs between the Chinese mainland and other countries and regions at the undergraduate level and above were established in the same period.

In addition, over 8,600 new undergraduate program sites and more than 4,500 master's degree-granting sites were added, with many of the adjusted disciplines and majors suited to future development and to the holistic growth of individuals, the minister said.

China will continue to advance reforms to better match talent supply with demand, he noted.

The minister highlighted the international recognition of China's basic and science education -- China ranks among the leaders on several key international student assessment indicators; the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education was established in Shanghai in September 2025.

Beyond academic performances, China is also dedicated to a health-first education philosophy, promoting students' physical and mental well-being and all-round development.

Huai said China has rolled out an initiative of 15-minute inter-class break and two hours of daily physical activities for primary and junior high school students in all its provincial-level regions.

Official data showed that the overall good-or-excellent rate of physical health among Chinese students has been steadily rising, and the overall student myopia rate has declined for four consecutive years.

China will further advance the campaign to strengthen students' fitness by creating PE classes that students enjoy and promoting basketball, football and volleyball matches across campuses, among other moves, he noted.

Highlighting the importance of students' mental health, Huai said China will put in place a new round of measures to nurture mental well-being for the group.

They include organizing arts performances, labor-practice activities, and games and events. More will be done to introduce spring and autumn breaks, fully staff mental health teachers, and conduct further research on mental health education, counseling services and intervention, he said.

China will also continue to carry out cleanup and rectification of illegal schooling, excessive study hours, and campus bullying, while intensifying efforts to regulate school meals, Huai added. ■