Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development: China's Signature Practices in Education

Eradicating poverty is the common ideal of humankind, a universal challenge currently faced by countries around the world, and a necessary prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ending poverty is paramount. Being a Member State of the UN and the largest developing country in the world, China actively responded to the global initiative to reduce poverty, implemented a series of practical actions to lift its impoverished populations out of poverty (as currently defined by the UN) by 2020, and completed the UN's poverty reduction goal a decade ahead of schedule.

Despite possessing vast territory, being home to nearly one-fifth of the world's population, and experiencing highly uneven internal development, China has rapidly advanced its poverty reduction agenda. As a UNESCO Chair of Teacher Education and a delegate to the National People's Congress from East China Normal University (ECNU), I have witnessed first-hand and participated in China's battle against poverty alongside many of my fellow ECNU colleagues and students.

This experience has imparted a profound understanding that, relative to other measures, education plays a pivotal role in eradicating poverty. It is the primary mechanism for fostering young aspirations and eliminating illiteracy, which are the building blocks of poverty reduction. It is also a fundamental strategy for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and realizing sustainable development. This article examines key highly effective educational practices and initiatives implemented by the Chinese government to alleviate poverty through education.

First, educational development has been prioritized to build a centralized institutional system that mobilizes and synergizes all social sectors for a common fundamental cause. For years, the Chinese government has positioned education as a strategic priority and focused on its development through educational planning and investments (Yuan, 2018). China's national fiscal spending on education has been maintained at no less than 4% of the country's GDP for several years, with significant funding directed toward rural and impoverished regions (Lu, 2024). The emphasis on educational development is particularly evident today in many impoverished remote or border areas; for example, community school buildings are often constructed with the best materials. The government has mobilized all social sectors to support educational advancement in these areas. Additionally, various institutions within the education system are also leveraging their unique strengths to enhance education using a variety of innovative measures.

In this regard, ECNU has formed long-term, individual partnerships with eight higher education institutions in central and western China, including Xinjiang Normal University and Guizhou University, to provide them with institutional assistance (Zhao, 2024). Under its leadership and coordination, eight normal universities in central and western China, including Jiangxi Normal University and Zhaotong University, are cooperating in the provision of supervision and support for four county-level high schools to improve education quality in areas such as Lhatse County in Xizang and Sanjiangyuan in Qinghai.

Second, targeted poverty alleviation efforts have been implemented through the education system, marking a fundamental transition from merely ensuring access to education to prioritizing access to high-quality education. To ensure that all school-age children receive compulsory education that “leaves no one behind,” the Chinese government has formulated a work program of individualized per-student plans to reduce school dropouts and ensure attendance. Additionally, a scientific identification mechanism has been established to assess impoverished students, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of each household's economic situation, educational needs, and students’ learning conditions. In addition to the analysis of statistical data from government departments, this mechanism involves close cooperation between schools, communities, and rural areas and the deployment of personnel to conduct surveys and verify information through door-to-door visits.

Based on these efforts, the Chinese government has continued to implement a special program to enroll students from rural and impoverished regions in key higher education institutions, benefitting 100,000 students each year (The Ministry of Education and Four Other Ministries of the People’s Republic of China, 2012). The program has led to successful outcomes, with many impoverished students becoming their families’ first generation to attend university. Extensive efforts have been undertaken to offer practical vocational education and skills training tailored to local labor market requirements, thereby improving the employability and entrepreneurial capacities of students from impoverished families. The Chinese government has established a comprehensive national student financial aid system that encompasses all levels of education, both public and private institutions, and all students from economically disadvantaged families, ensuring that support is directed where it is most needed.

Third, concerted efforts have been made to harness teachers as the primary resources of education and create a pipeline of high-quality teachers in rural regions. The Chinese government (The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 2015) has continued to advance the “Rural Teacher Support Plan” (2015–2020) (xiangcun jiaoshi zhichi jihua) in an endeavor to cultivate a supply of highly retainable and skilled rural teachers. To ensure high retention rates, a public funding scheme has been established to finance the education of students at normal schools; 50,000 participating graduates from higher education institutions go on to teach at rural elementary and high schools each year. In 2021, the Ministry of Education and eight other ministries jointly issued the Excellent Teachers Targeted Training Program for Underdeveloped Areas in Central and Western China, namely the “targeted teacher training plan (youshi jihua)” (The Ministry of Education and Eight Other Ministries of the People's Republic of China, 2021), with the goal of training approximately 10,000 teachers annually to serve elementary and high schools across 832 counties that have newly emerged from poverty, as well as in inland border counties in central and western China.

To achieve a high standard of teaching, over the course of a decade, the central government's Ministry of Finance has invested over RMB 20 billion in the National Training Program for Preschool, Primary and Secondary School Teachers (guopei jihua) (The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, 2010) to support the training of teachers in rural areas, resulting in more than 11 million participants. A system where talented educators form teams to support county-level education has also been implemented, covering 160 key target counties across 10 provinces, regions, and municipalities in western China. A pioneering initiative, the “National Silver Age Teacher Action Plan (guojia yinling jiaoshi xingdong jihua)” (The Ministry of Education and Nine Other Ministries of the People's Republic of China, 2023), has been launched to enable retired teachers from elementary schools, high schools, and universities—who are willing, experienced, and active—to contribute their expertise by teaching in central and western China. The initiative has recruited more than 20,000 participants since 2018.

Finally, the digital transformation of education has been leveraged to drive educational reforms, with artificial intelligence playing a key role in enhancing these efforts. Education digitalization has effectively narrowed disparities and improved educational quality in China. To achieve this, the Chinese government implemented a strategy to digitalize education. In March 2022, it launched a public service platform called “Smart Education of China” (https://www.smartedu.cn/), which integrates high-quality education and teaching resources for all educational levels. By the end of 2023, the platform had accumulated over 100 million registered users from more than 200 counties and regions in China, over 36.7 billion page views, and up to 2.5 billion visitors. This open platform enables students from impoverished regions to access high-quality educational resources from more developed regions.

ECNU has participated in one such initiative. It has been actively exploring smart education and initiating pilot programs for volunteer digital teaching. A volunteer teaching team comprising more than 300 university students has provided several comprehensive after-school programs for elementary school students in Xundian County, more than 2,000 km from Shanghai. These teaching programs are popular among both parents and children. Recently, ECNU advocated for and founded the “Thousand-Schools Alliance for the Digital Transformation of Elementary and Secondary Education” (China Daily, 2024) with the aim of advancing the integration of artificial intelligence and education and ensuring shared access to quality education through mutual aid and support.

China has passed the halfway mark toward achieving the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nevertheless, the pursuit of the goal to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” is ongoing. Alleviating poverty through education is a long-term endeavor, akin to a marathon rather than a 100-m sprint. We are willing to work with fellow educators worldwide and contribute our insights and strengths to ensure that the goals outlined in the Agenda for Sustainable Development are achieved on time and to realize healthier, more sustainable, and desirable ways of living through more inclusive, equitable, and quality education.

Takeaway message

• The Chinese government prioritizes education and invests significant resources in improving access and quality, especially in rural and impoverished regions.

• China's initiatives include individualized plans for school dropouts, vocational education, and special programs to enroll students from impoverished areas in key universities.

• China has launched the “Smart Education of China” platform to provide all students, particularly those from underserved regions, with access to high-quality educational resources.

• China is working toward achieving the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by collaborating with educators worldwide to ensure the widespread availability and accessibility of inclusive and equitable quality education.