Wang Chengbin, deputy director-general of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, addresses the 14th Jiangsu International Forum for School Principals in Nantong Nov 7. [Photo/jyt.jiangsu.gov.cn]

East China's Jiangsu province held its 14th International Forum for School Principals in Nantong Nov 7, welcoming 300 school principals from home and abroad. 

With this year's edition focusing on the equality and quality of basic education, Wang Chengbin, deputy director general of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, said at the forum that equality offers every child easy access to education while quality ensures they receive more targeted teaching. 

To achieve this goal, the official said Jiangsu should improve the way it runs schools and how it teaches students, focus on faculty training, develop students' practical skills, and speed up reform of examinations. 

As the forum attracted educational insiders from eight countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and Spain, Cai Xisheng, deputy director of Jiangsu's foreign affairs office, said he was delighted to see the province embracing an ever open and welcoming educational trend, with several local primary and middle schools receiving cooperative greetings from their foreign counterparts. 

Cai said some 500 local schools will establish closer ties with overseas schools by 2020, invigorating the current 1,200 sister schools which have been connected since the inception of the forum in 2005.

The 14th Jiangsu International Forum for School Principals is held in Nantong on Nov 7. [Photo/jyt.jiangsu.gov.cn]