An ophthalmologist checks the eyesight of a child in Yongzhou, Central China's Hunan Province on June 6, 2021, the 26th Chinese National Eye Care Day. Photo: VCG

The Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday issued a work plan for comprehensive prevention and control of myopia among children and teenagers in 2023, including the relevant work such as overall prevalence of myopia into the government performance evaluation mechanism.

The work of prevention and control of myopia among school students, the overall myopia rate and physical health status will be included into the government's performance mechanism, according to the work plan. It is strictly forbidden for local governments at all levels to unilaterally assess educational administration and schools on the basis of students' examination results and enrollment rate, said the plan.

Local governments and schools that have seen the physical health of children and teenagers decline for three consecutive years shall be held accountable based on laws and regulations, said the plan.

Vision health should be included in quality-oriented education, and physical and mental health should be included in the national quality monitoring and evaluation system for compulsory education.

The work plan specifies 70 key tasks for the 16 members of the national joint conference on comprehensive prevention and control of nearsightedness among school students in 2023 and 40 major tasks for 15 departments and bureaus under the MOE, and it also sets up the completion deadlines, according to the MOE.

This is the third time that the MOE has issued a work plan for the comprehensive prevention and control of myopia among children and teenagers, following the 2021 and 2022 versions.

Multiple measures have been carried out to ensure the implementation of the prevention and control of myopia among school students. For instance, primary and secondary school students need to have more than one hour of physical activity every day at school. Primary school students of grade 1 and 2 should have four PE lessons per week, and there should be three PE lessons for students from grade 3 to 6 and middle school students.

The country has been making efforts to promote prevention and control of myopia as part of its national health policy during recent years as the widespread short-sightedness problem among school students has become a hot topic in Chinese society.

The myopia rate of China's children and teenagers in 2020 was 52.7 percent, up 2.5 percentage points from 2019. The rate was 53.6 percent in 2018, according to the National Health Commission.

The plan also stressed the need to guide the local authorities to implement a "double reduction" policy, involving reduction of the excessive academic burden on students and strengthening of monitoring.

Along with the homework load, the excessive use of electronic devices has also played an important role in worsening students' myopia.

Global Times