An unveiling ceremony was held on Sept 2 in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to declare the official establishment of the Baiyun Experimental Education Group.

Liu Guohua, a member of the standing committee of the Baiyun district committee of the Communist Party of China and deputy head of the district, attended the ceremony.

Zeng Dan, deputy director of the district’s education bureau, read the approval on the establishment of the group. Yang Xiongzhong, director of the bureau, unveiled the group’s nameplate and issued the letter of appointment to Zhang Zhilin, president of the group.

Following the ceremony, Liu exchanged views on education with representatives, and attended the signing ceremony and unveiling ceremony for Yagang Primary School. The primary school will be included in the administration of Baiyun Experimental Education Group together with Guangzhou No. 114 Middle School.

The two schools are located in Baiyun Lake Digital Science and Technology Zone, which will be built into a hub for developing sci-tech economy, regional culture and all-around talents.

The introduction of the education group has won strong support from Shimen street and the economic union of Yagang village in Baiyun district. The street and the union paid close attention to the development of public education, took the initiative to cooperate with the district education bureau to conduct field research, promoted the introduction of high-quality education resources, improved teaching quality and facilitated the advancement of Baiyun Lake Digital Science and Technology Zone. To support the construction of Yagang Primary School, the economic union in Yagang village donated 50 million yuan ($7.83 million) for campus facility upgrading.

Baiyun Experimental School is another key school under the administration of Baiyun Experimental Education Group. As a high-quality private school in the district, it will give full play to its role in pooling talents, guiding education and helping the two schools to build a new governance mechanism and curriculum system, promote resource sharing and expand opportunities for the development of teachers and students.

According to the district education bureau, the establishment of an education group that centers on private schools is in line with the guiding opinions on promoting the collectivization of primary and secondary schools released by the provincial department of education, as well as the working spirit of the district Party committee and the district government on giving full play to high-quality education resources of private schools in driving the development of public schools. The group will effectively narrow the gap between private and public schools and further facilitate educational equity.

In recent years, Baiyun has strengthened interschool and cross-regional cooperation to deepen the collectivization of basic education through constructing new schools or campuses based on high-quality education resources, conducting entrusted management and forming paired assistance mechanism for rural schools and schools with less experience.

Apart from setting up education groups integrating demonstration high schools and renowned teaching and research institutions, Baiyun has negotiated with provincial and municipal universities and established the first district-owned rural education group hosted by colleges and universities in Guangdong province, so as to bring the benefits of resources, management and faculty to basic education.

The district has also strengthened cooperation with renowned provincial and municipal schools and initiated an administration mode of sending management teams of private schools to public schools and referring to the experience of private schools in faculty construction and staff training.

Representatives from the local government and the CPC committee of Baiyun district attend the unveiling ceremony of the Baiyun Experimental Education Group on Sept 2. [Photo by Shi Jianhua/Baiyun Updates]