Ministry of Education (MOE) held the inaugural conference for the Chinese Language and Literature Teaching Guidance Committee (TGC) in Tianjin, July 7th, 2013.

On July 7^th, the Ministry of Education (MOE) held the inaugural conference for the Chinese Language and Literature Teaching Guidance Committee (TGC) in Tianjin. Former Executive Vice President of Nankai University Chen Hong was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee. Gong Ke, President of Nankai University,and Liu Guiqin, vice director of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, were among the notable attendees at the conference.

We hope that the new TGC can help us get a clear understanding of the where we are at and what needs to be done, keeping the big picture of Chinese Language and Literature instruction at the university level in mind, said Liu Guiqin. From here, we can deepen reform and make sure we start off on the right track to improve the overall quality of teaching in these subjects, he concluded.

In striving for this all-around improvement, Chen Hong said that the new TGC will work to establishing a good balance between the many sometimes conflicting aspects of good education: cultural transmission and academic innovation, imparting knowledge and building skillsets, providing firm guidance and encouraging students to take the initiative, striving for professional competence and creating an environment where human sentiment is allowed to grow and flourish, honoring the responsibility to provide a professional experience and honoring the responsibility to give students an insight into cultural essence, among other areas.

The new TGC will specifically examine and try to make breakthroughs in complicated areas like improving college students’ communications skills and understanding the interaction and connection between Chinese language and literature instruction during college and during middle and primary school.

The new TGC is composed of experts and leaders selected by the MOE. Its objectives are to review theories and practices of undergraduate teaching, and to advise the MOE on the development of Chinese language and literature and related disciplines, the construction of teaching materials, and the establishment of teaching laboratories and teaching reform. In so doing, the TGC will develop professional norms or teaching quality standards, provide consultation on the evaluation of undergraduate teaching and the set up of undergraduate majors, organize and coordinate faculty training, academic discussions and information exchange and complete other work assigned by the MOE.

 

Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 473, July 10, 2013