In March, the old-age education institutions started school. At present, the number of students in domestic old-age education institutions is tight, and the phenomenon of "seconds kill" is everywhere. It is reported that an old man wanted to enter the vocal music class of Hebei University for the Aged, but failed to register for three consecutive years.
"Especially in the northern region, various elderly education institutions such as senior universities and open universities are often hard to find." At the two sessions, how to implement "accelerating the development of education for the elderly"? Jiang Qi, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a researcher at the Institute of Desertification Control of Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, paid attention to this topic.
The reason why it is hard to find an old-age university is that the total number and growth rate of old-age education institutions are seriously mismatched with the aging base in China. According to relevant statistics, there are more than140,000 senior three students and distance education students registered in various universities for the aged in China. According to the data of the seventh national census, there are 264 million elderly people over the age of 60 in China, and only about 5% of the population can receive education resources for the elderly. The university for the aged is dubbed as "the most difficult university in China", which is several times more difficult than the college entrance examination.
Jiang Qi's investigation also found that in recent years, in the actual operation of northern provinces in China, there is a widespread imbalance in the supply of urban elderly education resources, and the urban supply is seriously insufficient; The fund guarantee mechanism is not perfect and there is a lack of certain infrastructure; The teaching management level needs to be improved.
"Taking Ningxia as an example, the number of elderly people aged 60 and over has reached 974 1 10,000, while there are only more than 40,000 elderly students who can directly enroll students in elderly education institutions." Jiang Qi said.
The Opinions of the Central Committee of the State Council on Strengthening the Work for the Aged in the New Period has brought the education for the aged into the lifelong education system, and the Work Points of the Ministry of Education in 2022 has also clearly proposed to accelerate the development of the education for the aged. Running the education for the aged is an important measure to actively cope with the aging population, realize the modernization of education and build a learning society.
"Under the background of the aging population and the increasing learning needs of the elderly, we should increase investment in education for the elderly." Jiang Qi suggested that the education for the elderly should be incorporated into the overall national education plan, and a working mechanism of department heads, social participation, nationwide action and concerted efforts should be formed. It is also necessary to increase financial input, promote the legislation of elderly education in a timely manner, and build a lifelong education system from the legal level.
"If we can integrate the resources of communities, universities and large state-owned enterprises, and jointly set up branch schools with exemplary and more radioactive universities for the elderly, we should also be able to solve some problems." Jiang Qi suggested that community schools for the aged should be built according to local conditions, and the coverage of education outlets for the aged should be expanded. At the same time, relevant incentive policies are introduced to support and encourage various social forces to participate in the education for the elderly and solve the problem of fewer schools.