Improvement in Art Education Necessary: Vice Premier

Vice Premier Li Lanqing wants to see improvements made to the country's art education programs so that they can better serve social and economic development.

Li made an inspection tour Thursday to a number of art institutes in Beijing, including the Chinese Opera Institute, the Beijing Institute of Dance and the Beijing Film Academy.

The reform on art education will focus on better training of qualified people to meet the requirement of local and national development in the 21st century, Li said at a meeting after his tour, which was guided by presidents of the institutes and officials from the sectors of education and arts.

Meanwhile, art institutes should offer special tuition loans for poverty-stricken students, Li noted.

Moreover, the vice premier called for promoting quality education and popularizing the socialist ethical and moral education among the art school students. The vice premier noted that socialist culture and art are important components of the socialist cause, and better-quality art programs should be created.



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