BEIJIING, February 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- With China's rapid growing national strength, Chinese today have more reasons to pursue better education than ever. However, education in China has long been the subject of criticism by industry experts and the general public.
In a time of globalization and innovation, the Chinese people are beginning to do more than just sit back and criticize. For the future of children and the country, insightful and innovative minds have taken action to drive changes in China's education system. The 2012 China Innovation Education Forum organized by the China Education Research Network (http://www.hantopedu.com) is one of the first of such actions. Initiated by non-governmental forces, the Forum attracted attention from social elites in various walks of life in China. Over a hundred attended the forum. The most notable include Ren Yuling, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of CPPCC and consultant of the State Council, Guo Yongfu, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Society of Education, Jiang Peirong, Chief Interviewer of MIT in China, and Shell Xue, Global Vice President of American's Smile Train Foundation.
The China Education Research Network is an educational platform invested and established by Hantop Cultural Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The Network aspires to be the world largest interactive platform to share high-quality education information and resources. The China Education Research Network will be launched officially on 28th Feb 2012 during the China Innovation Education Forum. Until then, the China Education Research Network has been in trial operation for more than six months under the guidance and management of Professor Zhou Zhiping from Beijing University, famous Chinese-American Cheung Kong Scholar and doctoral supervisor.
"The ultimate goal of education is a happy and healthy life for the children. However, for system and environment reasons, China's current education system seems to have deviated from this goal," the Chief Expert of the China Education Research Network Zhou Zhiping pointed out. "If China's education system is to have a bright future, it must be based on the general rules of children's growth and education, use advanced internet and mobile technology, and let children learn and grow happily on their own."
"Awareness and action are two different things. Education requires experience and practice. Although China's education system has made good progress in recent years, we can't afford to be optimistic at this point. Children and schools in China face heavy pressure from examination and harsh selection processes. The education sector in this country is utilitarian and shortsighted in general. What we need most are ideas and conscience, but there is still a long way to go," Mr. Fu Yong, founder of the China Education Research Network pointed out at the meeting.
Individual power and temporary efforts are not solutions to the root of our problems. In order to achieve sustainable and healthy development, education in China must follow the general rules of children's growth and education. Conscience needs to be awakened and actions need to be guided. We need to integrate all forces, use advanced technologies, especially the mobile Internet technologies, to drive awareness into real action. In this sense, the non-governmental Education Research Network and its "Education Invisible" campaign has started an exploration of true value.
The ultimate goal of education is teaching children to cherish life so they can live happily. But joy and happiness cannot be stored or transferred. Education should never sacrifice any joyful childhood for a seemingly bright future. Now a growing number of parents, educational authorities and social forces in China have realized this, and have begun to encourage children to participate in international exchanges, and enforce compulsory sports activities on campus, etc.
The China Education Research Network has only just started operating, but its social influence has already become apparent. Currently there are nearly 20,000 active users of the website and nearly 10,000 active users on the official micro-blog. By now, the China Education Research Network has established a long-term strategic partnership with Edexcel, part of the world's largest learning company Pearson. This is living proof of the recognition from the education community.
The China Education Research Network is only a representative of China's non-governmental educational forces. These forces are partial, scattered, individual, non-institutionalized and non-mainstream, but when combined, will develop into an extraordinary power at the heart of education innovation. It is our belief that this power will drive China's education system into the fast lane of changes.
