China is a model country in many ways in developing basic education, Victor Ordonez, Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, told Xinhua in Bangkok on January 20.

"In the past 20 years, China has done the nearly miraculous feat of moving participation in schools from 30 to 40 percent to over 95 percent," he said after the closing ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Conference on Education For All 2000 Assessment Thursday.

The conference reviewed the gains and obstacles in the Asia-Pacific region to the goals of basic education set by the World Conference on Education for All held in Thailand 10 years ago.

Ordonez said China has become a country that helps others in terms of basic education, noting that UNESCO has sent a large number of literacy directors from Nepal, Pakistan and other Asia-Pacific countries to China to learn from it.

China's success in basic education should be attributed to the strong political message from the central government to rural villages, the continuity of leadership, the participation of local community and the long tradition of strong respect for education in its culture, Ordonez said.

"Once a UNESCO project gets approval from the Chinese authorities and begins running, it is sure to finish; and once it is finished, it is sure to continue and expand," Ordonez said.

He gave an example he encountered in China's northeastern Jilin Province, saying a UNESCO project helping build seven schools in the province has expanded to 24 schools and then to more than 200 schools by the provincial authorities without UNESCO's assistance.

Another reason for China's impressive achievement in basic education is the smooth transition for children from pre-school education to school study, he said.

Thanks to the pre-school education system, namely kinder gardens, nurseries and day care centers, children in China face little problem in adapting themselves to the school environment, Ordonez said.

The UNESCO regional chief was also impressed by China's protection of minority languages, saying it is very important to the protection of minority nationalities themselves.

Despite the achievements, China still faces challenges as the country has the world's highest number of out-of-school children, which account for 4.2 percent of the country's 1.2 billion population, Ordonez said.

There are also large disparity between coastal and inland regions in terms of basic education, he said.

However, he noted, China has been aware of the problem and is taking measures to overcome it. (Xinhua)