Ge Daokai, a deputy to the 2021 National People's Congress and director-general of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education. [Photo/jstv.com]

Ge Daokai, director-general of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education and a deputy to the 2021 National People's Congress, has suggested setting up a pilot zone for educational integration and innovation in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Ge said that education and talent are essential to the high-quality and integrated development of the YRD region.

"The YRD region has the most concentrated educational resources, the highest level of development, and the strongest innovative capabilities in China," Ge said. "It is paving the way for educational modernization and the building of a high-quality educational system in China."

Ge said the YRD region is responsible for setting up a pilot zone for educational integration and innovation, as it is home to one-sixth of higher learning institutions in China and nearly one-fifth of universities seeking to become world-leading institutions.

He said he hoped that the YRD's experience would be used as a model and be replicated across China. To achieve this goal, Ge said that the government should roll out plans and guidelines, develop high-level innovation platforms and major scientific and technological infrastructure, set up specialized colleges and universities for applied technology, and encourage leading schools in China and abroad to set up branches in the region.

The director-general also encouraged the building of stronger industry-university-research cooperation between high-level universities, research institutes, and leading companies.