Report on the Work of the Government

5. Vigorously implementing the strategy of reinvigorating the country through science and education and the strategy of strengthening the country through human resource development

Science and technology, education and human resources are the foundation of national development, and they must therefore always be given an important strategic position.

We will continue to give high priority to education. We will promote the scientific development of education programs, and provide people with more diverse, more equitable and higher-quality education. In 2012, government spending on education will reach 4% of GDP. We will speed up the development of preschool education. We will encourage both governmental and nongovernmental bodies to provide preschool educational services in order to increase resources and promptly solve problems concerning access to preschool education. We will promote the balanced development of compulsory education. We will strengthen standardization in compulsory education schools, and ensure that the allocation of public resources gives priority to rural schools and weak urban schools. Relying mainly on local governments and public schools, we will guarantee equal access to compulsory education for the children of rural migrant workers who live in cities. We will support the development of education and promote bilingual instruction in ethnic minority areas. We will comprehensively promote well-rounded education. We will accelerate education reforms; genuinely lighten the school workload of primary and secondary school students; and give high priority to guiding students and fostering their ability to think independently, solve practical problems and be innovative. We will ensure that primary and middle school students do one hour of physical exercise in school every day. We will vigorously develop vocational education. We will guide senior secondary schools and universities to emphasize their unique features, raise the quality of their teaching, and help their students to become better able to find employment or start their own businesses. We will strengthen the development of key disciplines and accelerate the development of a number of world-class universities. We will support the development of special education. We will implement and improve the government financial aid system for students and ensure no children are obliged to discontinue schooling at any stage of education due to their family's financial difficulties.

We will comprehensively strengthen human resource development. With the focus on high-level and highly skilled personnel, we will more quickly foster a large number of innovative scientists and engineers and skilled workers who are urgently needed and in short supply. We will invest more in human resource development and carry out major projects to foster talented personnel. We will deepen the reform of the systems for selecting and employing personnel; strive to create an equitable, open and competitive system as well as social environment in which people are selected on their merits; encourage outstanding people to emerge; and create an environment that encourages talented people to tap their full potential.

We will vigorously promote scientific and technological innovation. We will speed up the implementation of major national science and technology projects, make breakthroughs in a number of core and key technologies, and enhance our capabilities to carry out major integrated innovation projects. We will strengthen basic research and research in cutting-edge technologies and increase our capacity for original innovation. We will give impetus to the establishment of systems and mechanisms for enterprises to take the lead in R&D and innovation. We will encourage enterprises to undertake jointly funded R&D on key generic technologies and share both risks and rewards. The government needs to provide policy and financial support to projects in areas of national strategic interests. We will deepen reform of the system for managing science and technology, and promote the optimal allocation, efficient use and public sharing of scientific and technological resources. We will provide incentives to research institutes, universities, scientists and engineers to encourage them to cooperate with enterprises in various ways. We will steadily increase government spending on science and technology, and improve the performance of research expenditures. We will unswervingly implement the national strategy on intellectual property rights; improve our ability to create, apply, protect and manage them; and arouse an innovative spirit throughout society.