Guangzhou will strive to build a comprehensive education system for children of foreign expatriates during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), including schools for children of foreign personnel, Sino-foreign cooperatively-run schools and projects in the elementary education stage, and international characteristic private schools, Chen Liubin, director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Division of Guangzhou Education Bureau, said at a press conference on November 2.

The Guangzhou Education Bureau officially released the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Guangzhou Education" on November 2. The plan shows that, in addition to the education system, Guangzhou will also explore the establishment of higher education applications and curriculum systems to meet the international education needs of foreign expats’ children, so as to attract more overseas talent to settle in Guangzhou and participate in the future construction of the city.

he aerial photo of the Nord Anglia International School Guangzhou, a new international school that has opened in Huangpu's Olympic Park in Guangzhou, since September 2021. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

According to the plan, Guangzhou will support the set up of new schools for children of foreign expats and Hong Kong and Macao citizens, and encourage these schools to offer courses in Chinese and Chinese culture, so that the foreign children and their parents can understand Guangzhou and learn more traditional Chinese culture.

Additionally, Chen mentioned that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Guangzhou will select 15 to 20 typical primary and secondary schools (including public and private schools) with rich experience in teaching and international exchanges and cooperation each year, and help them become international education window schools. By 2025, the city will cultivate and establish no less than 50 window schools. The government encourages schools to open and improve bilingual websites and new media accounts to tell interesting stories about Guangzhou education.