THE city will add 60,000, or 60 percent more, senior middle school seats by the end of 2022 by building and expanding 30 public schools, according to a circular on promoting quality education development issued by the city government Tuesday.

Shenzhen will build 10 advanced senior high schools, 10 specialized high schools and 10 private senior schools that lead the country during the 14th Five-Year Plan, which is between 2021 and 2025.

Concerning compulsory education, a total of 146 public schools will be expanded or renovated by the end of 2022 to add a total of 210,000 seats. Each district is required to predict the real demand for school seats six years in advance based on population, offer a planning three years in advance and ensure the supply one year in advance.

Housing projects should also be planned along with the school’s development to guarantee education for immigrant workers, said the circular.

Additionally, residential communities in principle should have at least one to two public kindergartens. Each district should have at least one school set up specifically for special education by the end of 2020.

The city will also help private schools improve quality by measures like encouraging donations.

In terms of higher education, the municipal government supports the building of top universities and key subject research, for example, the construction of Shenzhen Ocean University and the Shenzhen Academy of Innovation and Creative design. Exchanges with renowned universities around the world are also called for.

The city will support Shenzhen Institute of Technology and Shenzhen Second Senior Technical School in developing into model technical schools.

Attracting more talents in education circles and offering trainings for teachers is another focus of the circular.

Shenzhen now has 2,551 schools (including kindergartens) with 2.20 million students. In the early years after the city of Shenzhen was established, it had 250 schools with 58,000 students.

(Wang Jingli)