Measures to boost educational co-op in Greater Bay Area

The outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was unveiled by Chinese authorities on Feb 18 and included measures to promote educational cooperation among cities in the area.

The Greater Bay Area is composed of nine cities in the Pearl River Delta region – Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhuhai, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Huizhou in Guangdong province – as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region.

The plan supports colleges and universities in the Greater Bay Area in conducting cooperation in running schools, and encourages them to jointly build prominent disciplines, laboratories and research centers.

Nanshan district in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is both the educational and scientific research centers of the city, and also is home to Shenzhen University and Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park. [Photo/IC]

The plan also encourages colleges and universities in the region to carry out cooperation in mutual recognition of credits in particular courses, more flexible student exchange programs, and sharing and transformation of scientific research achievements. College and university alliances should be given full play.

The plan supports the establishment of an international educational demonstration area in the Greater Bay Area by introducing world renowned universities and characteristic colleges, and promoting the construction of world-class universities and disciplines in the region.

The plan encourages youth from Hong Kong and Macao to attend schools on the Chinese mainland. Incentives, including the same transport and ticket concessions as mainland students enjoy, are guaranteed for students from Hong Kong and Macao who go to mainland schools.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is renowned as one of Asia's most beautiful university campuses. [Photo/IC]

Cooperation in students' enrollment and employment, cultivation and training, teacher-student communication and skill competitions will be advanced among vocational schools in the Greater Bay Area. The plan is in favor of innovating ways of cooperation in running schools, boosting communication and cooperation between all kinds of vocational education training bases, and making joint efforts to build a batch of characteristic vocational educational parks.

The plan supports Macao in establishing a bilingual (Chinese and Portuguese) talent training base and a tourism education training base for the Greater Bay Area by making full use of its experience and advantages in tourism education training and tourism development.

Exchanges and cooperation in basic education among major cities in the area will be strengthened. The plan encourages middle and primary schools to become sister schools. Boarding schools for children of employees from Hong Kong and Macao will be established in Guangdong province.

The memorial archway of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province [Photo/IC]

Research will be conducted into the feasibility and possibility of kindergartens in the Greater Bay Area becoming sister schools.

The plan promotes studies on allowing kindergarten and primary and middle school teachers from Hong Kong and Macao to obtain teaching certification in Guangdong and to teach in the province.

Construction of schools will be strengthened in the Greater Bay Area to increase the supply of degrees. The plan will further improve the relevant policies for the children of migrant workers to promote equal access for them to preschool, compulsory and high school education, and to ensure that eligible children can attend their college entrance examinations in their parents' work places.

The plan supports a feasibility study into granting eligible children of Hong Kong and Macao residents, who work and live in the nine cities of Guangdong province, the same rights as those of mainland residents to receive compulsory and high school education.

The plan also encourages all kinds of educational talent training and exchanges.