A new national plan sets forth targets for enhancing multiple aspects of student competencies over the next five years. The State Council recently issued the '15th Five-Year Plan for Education Development,' which details goals in areas including health, science, artificial intelligence, and language literacy.
Regarding health, the plan calls for upholding the philosophy of health-first education and implementing a student physical fitness enhancement program. Primary and secondary school students will be guaranteed at least two hours of comprehensive physical activity per day, along with a '15-minute break' policy. Schools are required to widely organize competitions such as the 'three major ball games' and ensure each student masters at least one sports skill. The plan also encompasses school aesthetic education immersion actions, labor habit formation programs, and the popularization of mental health education, including providing adequate mental health teachers and launching a new round of mental health promotion campaigns.
Scientific literacy and innovative ability are also highlighted. The plan proposes improving the science education system and strengthening the cultivation of young people's scientific literacy, critical thinking, and innovation skills, while promoting synergy between science and humanities education. In the AI domain, it mandates the advancement of AI education across all school stages to improve students' AI literacy and enhance their ability to identify and solve problems.
On language and culture, the plan arranges actions to popularize and improve the quality of standard spoken and written Chinese, and to build a system for the inheritance and development of excellent Chinese language culture while enhancing young people's language literacy. Furthermore, quality education will be deepened, including advancing campus culture development and continuously promoting reading campaigns for young students.