China News Service, Beijing, October 19 (Reporter Wang Zumin) "Report on the Development of China's Elderly Education (2019-2020)" was released in Beijing on the 19th.
According to relevant survey data, as of the end of 2019, there were 76,296 senior colleges (schools) in China, with a total of 10.882 million students. Online digital education has gradually become an important form of senior education.
The report was organized and compiled by the China Association of Senior Citizens' Universities. It is the first comprehensive document in the history of Chinese senior education that integrates academic, practical, innovative and informative.
According to the report, in recent years, China's senior education institutions have achieved unprecedented development both in terms of quantity and quality of running schools, and the number of students in senior universities (schools) has increased significantly in both the growth rate and the speed.
In the past five years, the number of senior colleges (schools) in China has increased by 15,790 cumulatively, with an average annual growth rate of 4.7 percentage points; the average annual growth of the number of students in schools is about 7.4 percentage points, and the growth rate of both is higher than that of the elderly. The growth rate of the population shows that China's elderly education is getting more and more attention. It is expected that in the future, colleges (schools) for the elderly will enter a period of rapid development.
Wu Yushao, member of the Party Group of the National Office for Aging and Vice President of the China Association for Aging, said that the China Aging Education Development Report has filled a gap in the history of China’s aging education development.
He believes that “learning is the best old-age care”, and elderly education plays a pivotal role in actively responding to the aging of the population. It is an important means to explore the potential of the elderly and to play the residual heat of the elderly. The foundation for the old to have fun is also an important prerequisite for the transition from "old care" to "enjoy the old" after entering the new era.
Diao Haifeng, executive vice president of the China Association of Senior Citizens’ Universities, introduced that the "Report on the Development of China’s Senior Education (2019-2020)" includes four parts: a general report, a sub-report, a regional report, and a characteristic report. The development achievements in this respect present a comprehensive picture of the development of China's elderly education that is three-dimensional, diversified and fruitful.
"After more than 30 years of development, China's senior education has been qualitatively improved in terms of ideological understanding, emphasis, school scale, school quality, and social benefits. It serves social governance and national strategic guidelines and improves the lives of senior citizens. The role of quality and other aspects has become increasingly prominent." Diao Haifeng said.
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