China still faces challenges despite the fact that its development mode of education has provided a pioneering experience for the world education sector, said David Archer, head of the international education of the Action Aid, a well-known Britain-based non-government organization.

At the concluding 5th High Level Group Meeting on Education For All of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) here Wednesday, Archer told Xinhua that China gives priority to the educational sector in national development, and the government has made a commitment to education far exceeding many other countries in the world.

Statistics showed that in 2004, about 94 percent of Chinese have had access to free nine-year compulsory education. The adult illiteracy rate lowered to four percent. 98.9 percent of girls attended school courses.

Archer said that while China has adequate resources to ensure a nine-year compulsory education, it still needs to take more concrete measures to make compulsory education entirely free. Low-paid substitute teachers in many countries - including China -will bring great damage to the long-term development of the education cause.

According to Archer, few government or international agencies have invested in adult literacy, but focusing only in compulsory education. UNESCO statistics showed that nearly one billion people around the world do not know how to read and write, and the actual figure is estimated to double soon. Among them two thirds are women and almost one fifth are people aged from 15 to 24.

An investigation by Action Aid showed young adult literacy and compulsory education are closely linked to both the national economy.

"If a child's parents are illiterate, the child will struggle for schooling with his parents lack of respect for education, even if he is provided with free education," said Archer.

After making an investigation of literacy work in 35 countries, Archer found that most teachers in adult literacy work got low payment or just did it voluntarily. Illiterate young adult only receive training programs of six months to one year, which provides them with no practical skills to make a living.

Action Aid carried out programs in vast rural areas in different countries to help local illiterate young adults compile teaching materials by themselves with charts and pictures that can be easily understood. The teaching materials tell farmers how to grow crop and how to utilize local resources with languages and words familiar to farmers. Based on these teaching materials, Archer and his colleagues also complied a set of guidelines for literacy work, which scored a prize by the United Nations.

Archer said Action Aid hopes to join hands with the Chinese government and non-government organizations to promote the guidelines in China, and compile teaching material pinpointing China's domestic situation.

He pointed out that another challenge faced by China is issue of quality education. At present, most countries in the world still adopt a test-oriented educational mode, which does not comply with the economic developing trend.

The future society needs innovative talent adaptive to changes, capable of solving problems, and that knows how to learn efficiently. To cultivate such type of personnel, China should train a high-quality and professional teaching staff.

He stressed that 180 countries in the world promised to decrease the number of the illiterate by 50 percent in 2015.

Action Aid was founded in 1972 and now cooperates with more than 2,000 non-government organizations in over 40 countries. Since 1998, Action Aid has carried out rural education and anti-AIDS programs in four provinces and regions in China.

Source: Xinhua