Education Should Be Geared to the Requirements of Modernization, the World and the Future

“Education should be oriented toward modernization, the world and the future.” This is the inscription by Deng Xiaoping to Beijing Jingshan School in September 1983. The “three orientations” of education are based on scientific analysis of national conditions, grasping the world situation, and predicting the future, adapting to the requirements of the general line and general tasks of China’s socialist modernization, and determining the strategic policy and development direction of the education front. The “three orientations” are not only related to each other, but also have their own emphasis, and they are a unified whole. “Oriented toward modernization” emphasizes that education must cultivate and bring up a large number of talents with modern scientific and technological knowledge and management knowledge for the socialist economic construction, and adapt to the strategic objectives, strategic steps, and strategic focus of economic development in China. Therefore, educational concepts, content, methods, modes and means must also be modernized. “Oriented toward the world” mainly talks about the relationship between China and foreign countries, including the relationship between Chinese education and foreign education. Our various talents must adapt to the requirements of reforms, opening to the outside world, and interactions with all parties in the world. We are required to learn and study what is useful to our education in foreign education, break the seclusion, self-preservation, and “adapt foreign things for Chinese use”.

At the same time, our education must have the courage to compete, catch up with and exceed the world's advanced level. “Oriented toward the future” refers to the relationship between today and tomorrow, education now and education in the future. Education shall be oriented toward the future economic, technological and social development. In the “three orientations” of education, “oriented toward modernization” is the foundation and core.

Starting from this basic point, education must be continuously reformed and developed, must learn from the best of others, understand and absorb the world’s advanced science and technology and educational experience, timely predict and study the future social development, grasp the trend of world education development, and enable China’s education to stand on its own in the world of education, so that our future generations can take the initiative to participate in the increasingly fierce international competition with their overall excellent qualities. The 15th CPC National Congress proposed that socialist cultural construction should be oriented toward modernization, the world and the future. The 18th CPC National Congress put forward the strategic goal of “basically realizing the modernization of education” and the overall requirement of “working hard to ensure that education meets the people's needs”. It is proposed that we shall adhere to optimized development of education, fully implement the Party's educational policy, adhere to education serving the socialist modernization and serving the people, take fostering virtue through education as the fundamental task of education, and cultivate socialist builders and successors who develop morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically.