China to Ensure Broadband Internet Access for Students

China will ensure broadband Internet access for every rural and urban student by 2020 to improve informationization of education, according to a development guideline released on March 30.

The guideline covering the development of educational informationization in the next decade, which was published on the website of the Ministry of Education, says an educational information network will be established by 2020 to cover various levels of schools and educational institutions, so that each school and student can have Internet access.

About half of students of primary and junior high schools in China and more than 20 percent of senior high school students do not have Internet access, official statistics show.

Without adequate conditions and computers, many rural, remote and ethnic minority regions cannot access the Internet.

The guideline specifies measures for "narrowing digital divide" in basic education, accelerating informationization for vocational education, promoting deep integration of information technology and higher education, and constructing public service platforms for continuing education.

"An informationized learning environment will be established for each one to have access to high-quality educational resources," it says.

A nationwide educational platform based on "cloud technology" will be formed by 2015, it says, adding that various schools and institutions will be connected and share information with each other via an "open university" platform.

The guideline also asks universities to arrange special bodies and personnel to handle informationization issues.

Source: Xinhua