On November 18, the Provincial Conference on Education was held in Chengdu. Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People's Congress, attended and addressed the conference. He emphasized the need to thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on education and the series of important instructions for Sichuan's work, fully implement the arrangements and requirements set at the National Conference on Education, continue to give high priority to the development of education, closely focus on the basic task of fostering virtue through education, and propel the Sichuan's development into a leading province in education, thereby providing solid support for writing a new chapter of Sichuan in advancing Chinese modernization.

Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, chaired the conference. Tian Xiangli, Chairperson of the CPPCC Sichuan Provincial Committee, and Yu Lijun, Deputy Secretary and Head of the Organization Department of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, attended.

In his speech, Wang Xiaohui, on behalf of the provincial Party committee and the provincial government, expressed heartfelt gratitude and sincere greetings to the teachers, education workers, and retired educational personnel who have dedicatedly served in the field of education throughout the province. He pointed out that education is of critical importance to the future of our country and our Party, acting as the cornerstone for building China into a great country and moving toward national rejuvenation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has consistently prioritized education development, made significant decisions to accelerate the modernization of education and build a leading country in this field, and driven historic achievements and structural transformation in the educational cause in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping provided us with significant guidance through a series of important speeches and instructions on building China into a leading country in education, particularly his key speech at the National Conference on Education this September. In these speeches and instructions, he profoundly clarified the scientific connotation of what constitutes a leading country in education, systematically outlined the strategies and approaches to achieve this status, provided a scientific framework for the key tasks involved, highlighted the essential guarantees needed for this development, presented an action plan for accelerating this progress, and set a clear direction forward for our educational endeavors. General Secretary attaches great importance to the educational development of Sichuan. During each inspection visit to the province, he offers significant directives, insightful analysis, and meticulous direction. We must combine the study and implementation of General Secretary's important discourses on education with the spirit of his series of key instructions for Sichuan's work, steadfastly deliver these principles throughout the entire process and in all areas of educational reform and advancement in the province, and ensure that Sichuan's educational cause consistently progress in the right direction.

Wang Xiaohui emphasized that Sichuan is a key player in the field of education and occupies a significant role in the broader context of China's educational development. In recent years, we have consistently placed education at a significant position in the overall provincial work agenda, solidly promoted the development of education at all levels and in various types, and achieved substantial progress in numerous facets of this initiative. Currently, as Sichuan has embarked on a new journey of building a great modern province, its educational development has transitioned to a new phase where the emphasis is increasingly on improving quality rather than just expanding quantity. The push towards modernization sets forth new and more stringent demands on educational progress. There is a new, increasing public expectation for greater equity and quality in education. Addressing the issues of unbalanced and inadequate educational development continues to be a major and persistent task. To forge a robust province, prioritizing educational enhancement is crucial. Focusing on the goal of building a great modern socialist province in all respects by the middle of this century, we will move faster to build Sichuan as a leading province in education. By 2027, we aim to achieve phased results, and by 2035, we will have established a province distinguished by its educational strength, including a strong moral education foundation, a resilient training framework, robust support and leadership, significant influence and reach, and dynamic vitality. All regions and relevant departments in the province must accurately understand the new circumstances, tasks and requirements, firmly grasp the political, people-centered, and strategic nature of education, actively promote its modernization, strive to develop education that meets the people's expectations, and harness educational prowess to support Sichuan's high-quality development and modernization efforts.

Wang Xiaohui emphasized the need to concentrate on key areas and crucial links to coordinate and promote the effective implementation of various tasks for building Sichuan as a leading province in education. We must firmly carry out the basic task of fostering virtue through education, adhere to using the Party's new theories to forge souls and educate people, strengthen the development of the overall ideological and political theory courses, take physical and mental health as a breakthrough point for improvement to enhance the comprehensive education system that integrates moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education, intensify efforts to promote standard spoken and written Chinese, and educate and guide young students to strengthen their belief in Marxism, conviction in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and confidence in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Education, science and technology, and human resources should be developed in an integrated manner. We should implement a category-based strategy to drive the reform and development of higher education institutions, optimize the mechanism for establishing and adjusting academic disciplines and majors, actively advance the application and commercialization of universities' sci-tech achievements, expedite the development of a modern vocational education framework, and cultivate a beneficial cycle between education, science and technology, and human resources. We must enhance the quality and level of public educational services, optimize the allocation of education resources, augment the supply of high-quality educational resources, consolidate and enhance the achievements of "double reduction" in reducing the burden on students, further promote the digitalization of education, drive the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education, promote the widespread availability and inclusiveness of preschool education, and foster the diversified development of high schools, seeing that the gains of educational reform and development benefit all our people fairly. We should build a highly skilled and professional teaching workforce, place a particular emphasis on bolstering the professional integrity and conduct of teachers, focus on enhancing teachers' professional competence, optimize teacher management and resource allocation in a coordinated manner, and continuously elevate teachers' political, social, and professional status. Continuous efforts should be made to deepen comprehensive reforms, opening up, and cooperation within the education sector. We need to coordinate the advancement of reforms across educational approaches, school-running models, administrative frameworks, and support mechanisms, expand opening up and cooperation at all levels and in various types of education, intensify educational collaboration between the eastern and western regions, and fully stimulate the dynamics and vitality of educational development.

Wang Xiaohui emphasized the need to uphold and reinforce the Party's overall leadership in educational matters and consolidate a robust collective effort toward building a leading province in education. Efforts should be made to refine the systems and mechanisms of educational leadership, rigorously enforce the strategy of prioritizing education development, and establish a cohesive framework where the Party committees exercise unified leadership, the government and Party work in tandem, and each department fulfills its respective responsibilities. It is essential to uphold and enhance the system of responsibility resting with principals under Party leadership and collaboratively foster an environment that respects teachers and values education. It is essential to establish a healthy educational ecosystem, develop a scientifically grounded framework for educational assessment, and create a cultivation pattern where schools take the lead actively, families assume their responsibilities proactively, and society provides substantial support. It is imperative to steadfastly uphold the fundamental principles of safety and stability. We should actively advance the development of a safe campus environment, diligently manage campus food safety with attention to detail, enhance the prevention and management of school violence and bullying, and make utmost efforts to protect the safety of faculty and students and preserve the stability of the campus. All teachers and education workers in the province are urged to steadfastly remember their original mission of cultivating talent for the Party and the country, actively champion the ethos of educators, act as trustworthy guides in students' growth, embrace the role of selfless and devoted "master educators", and endeavor to nurture talents who can shoulder the mission of building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation.

At the conference, representatives from the Department of Education, Chengdu City, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan University, Sichuan Agricultural University, and Dongfang Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. of Dongfang Electric Corporation took turns to deliver exchange speeches. Also present were relevant provincial leaders, leading officials from municipal (prefectural) Party committees or governments, heads of relevant provincial departments (units), and persons in charge from part of central units in Sichuan, higher education institutions in Sichuan affiliated with ministries and commissions, as well as provincial universities and research institutes, along with representatives from the teaching staff and students, among others.