Education guideline to improve transparency

A guideline has been issued on the disclosure of government information in the field of compulsory education in a bid to streamline the procedure and improve transparency and openness, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.

Local education authorities should be able to disclose key information about major incidents concerning compulsory education within five hours, the ministry said.

They should hold a news conference to notify the public about the latest development, interpret policies and respond to public inquiries and concerns within a day of an incident, the ministry said in a guideline.

The guideline stressed that a system should be established to collect, assess, handle and respond to public opinions on compulsory education.

The information to be disclosed is comprised of policy documents, a general introduction, information on private schools, financial information, student enrollment, student and teacher management, key policies, education supervision and campus safety.

Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said people's enthusiasm to participate in public policymaking and protect their own rights has grown rapidly in recent years.

"Better and timelier information disclosure in compulsory education can help calm the public about incidents and prevent the spread of rumors," he said.

What education authorities should also work on is to do a better job of preventing different incidents from happening, he added.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, revised regulations on the disclosure of government information to better respond to public concerns in April.

The revision, which went into effect in May, aims to increase the openness of government affairs and resolve prominent problems in government information disclosure.

It also represents the headway and achievements made in this field over the years and clarifies the scope of government information disclosure, calling for constantly expanding information disclosure.

Efforts should be made to improve the effectiveness of government information disclosure by using information technology to enable government information to play its due role in serving the people, it added.

Xinhua contributed to this story.