Participants sing to the symphony of Chinese national anthem, holding national flags, during an education forum in the coastal city of Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province, on September 26. Photo: Wang Qi/GT

An educational forum kicked off on Thursday in East China's coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong Province. Experts and insiders congregated to discuss the current scenarios and new changes in China's education sector.

Themed "Integrated development of education," the forum was hosted by Qingdao-based Fancy Education Group, an education company that focuses on braining education and ushering guidance on family education. 

Experts and insiders of education industry congregated to discuss the current scenarios and new changes in China's education sector. Photo: Courtesy of the Fancy Education Group.

The need of the hour

"Education is of fundamental importance for a nation. The development of the education industry is an inevitable requirement to improve the comprehensive quality of the Chinese nation," Hou Lichun, former deputy director of the Development Research Center of China's State Council, said on Thursday. 

Following reform and opening-up of China in 1978 as the country got wealthier, Chinese people started spending more of their income in non-food realms, especially in self-development and education, noted Hou, adding that education is imperative for poverty alleviation.

He noted that education is important for a nation in an international era of tech-revolution.  

Although China is the world's second-largest economy, according to the Human Development Index released by United Nations Development Programme,taking into account the education and health factors of the country, China ranks 86th on that list.

"Only by improving the overall quality and educational level of our people can we truly earn the respect of the world," Hou said. 

New approaches

The development of China's education sector requires a joint effort of the public and private education sectors, as well as the development of traditional education and brain training, analysts said. 

"We are in the age of knowledge explosion, so we need to change the teaching-learning process. People's brains are still not fully developed, and brain training will make our children more competitive," Meng Hongfei, an expert of brainpower said during the forum. 

Brain training is a combination of physical, emotional and cognitive exercises to tap into infinite brain potential. The education is believed as an effective way to improve focus, confidence, memory, creativity while reducing stress and anxiety.

According to Meng, the popularity of The Brain, a Chinese reality show, which aims to find people with exceptional brainpower, reflects the potential market of brain training which will result in an improvement of student's memory and concentration. 

Dong Zhilong, a Chinese economist, speaking on the forum said the reforms in education have given private-owned educational institutes and their brain training projects a great opportunity to thrive.

"We should respect different educational approaches and draw on each other's strengths to promote the continuous development of China's education industry," Dong added.

Importance of family influence

Education as a family unit since childhood was also discussed during the forum followed by the distribution of certificates to some Chinese family education instructors. 

Family education lies in the tradition of Chinese culture. The occupation of "family education adviser" can make the country's family education more formal and scientific, said Cao Pin, deputy secretary-general of China youth studies association.

Lan Yi, a senior lecturer of Fancy Education Group, said that the profound and decisive influence of one's learnings in a family is irreplaceable by any academic centered education. "It's like the roots of a tree."

"According to my research, students whose parents are in the teaching profession tend to score higher marks in school. Children would imitate their parents' words and deeds, so parents also need to constantly learn and  polish their qualities," Lan told the Global Times on Thursday. 

To some extent, family determines a country's future," Lan added.