China issues guide for compulsory education evaluation

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have issued a document to guide the evaluation of the country's compulsory education quality, in a bid to promote the well-rounded development of students, an education official announced on Thursday.

The document, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and five other Party and governmental authorities, aims to get rid of the mania surrounding scores, enrollment rates, academic diplomas, papers and titles in the education sector, said Lyu Yugang, head of the MOE's basic education department, at a press conference.

According to the document, evaluation efforts will include the local education environment, the quality of education at schools and the quality of students' development.

The guide noted that county-level authorities should not take the student enrollment rate for a higher-level school as the only gauge by which to assess schools, headmasters and teachers, and they should not set rigid requirements in this regard.

The guide noted that schools should strictly control the use of exams in teaching and not discriminate against certain students by putting them into "fast" and "slow" classes.

The evaluation of student development should be comprehensive to ensure sound performances in terms of moral grounding, intellectual and physical ability, aesthetic sensibility and work skills, the document read.

Additionally, not only academic scores but also study habits and innovation should be evaluated, so as to ensure compulsory education leads to well-rounded development and life-long benefits for students, it said.

The document further required a better incentive system for school teachers.