China to Crack Down on Foreign Teaching Material in Schools

By Ryan Gandolfo

The Chinese Ministry of Education announced on September 14 that they will begin a nationwide inspection of educational teaching materials used in elementary and middle schools.

The ministry provided reasons for implementing this short-term inspection, citing concerns over alterations made to textbook content, as well as schools using textbooks that have not been approved for use.

The education ministry, based in Beijing, has called on the education departments of every region to inspect the teaching materials used by students from first to ninth grade to ensure every schoolbook is congruent with the country’s historical and cultural viewpoints. The examination will be carried out until October 15, at which point each local education department will report back to Beijing with their findings.

They have also requested every relevant publication company examine their previously authorized materials to see if any content does not align with the compulsory education course curriculum standard that was implemented in 2011.

The ministry will then have a team of experts review any school materials that have been altered and provide feedback to the bureau. After that, the relevant publications will need to make edits based on the Ministry of Education’s input before the start of the 2019 spring term. They will also perform nonscheduled inspections throughout the spring term.

According to the Financial Times, “the current inspections now apply to international schools as well, which enroll only students holding foreign passports.” This latest announcement by the Chinese Education Ministry makes it clear that substituting national standard teaching materials for foreign-based materials is a violation.

That’s reached out to two international school administrators working in Guangzhou schools on Saturday, September 22, and both stated they have not received word of the policy changes.

[Cover image via sanhao.com]

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