Education is a priority in China's overall development strategy and its reform must be deepened to support the building of a moderately prosperous society and the reinvigoration of the nation, President Hu Jintao has told senior cadres.

China needed to raise people's science awareness and education levels, and train skilled and qualified personnel in order to achieve modernization goals, Hu told a meeting attended by members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, when he presided over the meeting in the capacity of general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

It was the responsibility of the Party and the government to ensure equality in education, and more efforts were needed to deepen the educational reform and realign the education structure to satisfy the people, he said.

The education of patriotism needed to be enhanced to instruct students to love the country and to serve the people, and innovation and practice should be encouraged in promoting competence-oriented education.

Three tasks set in the 11th Five-Year Plan had to be fulfilled: ensuring compulsory education, promoting vocational education and raising the quality of higher education.

Party committees and governments must improve assistance and implement preferential policies for students from needy families, and optimize employment opportunities for college graduates, said Hu, adding the unreasonable and illegal raising of tuition fees must be eliminated.

Teachers in underdeveloped regions must be helped to solve problems in their work and living, so that their initiative, creativity and innovation would be encouraged and developed, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)