At this critical juncture where educational digitization is entering deeper waters, Yang Zongkai, head of the Ministry of Education's Expert Advisory Committee on Educational Digitization, emphasized at a press conference on December 30th: To maintain China's leading position in education and enhance its international influence during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and even further into the future, there must be high-level coordination and consistency among "platforms, data, AI tools, and policies." Only in this way can we systematically deepen educational reform and truly build a new educational ecosystem for the future.
"Four-in-One": A Systematic Project for Educational Digitization
Yang Zongkai pointed out that in the past, educational informatization focused mostly on hardware deployment and resource development. However, the core task for now and the future is to drive a transformation in the educational model with artificial intelligence as the engine. This requires the deep integration of four key elements:
- Unified platform: Build a national smart education platform that is interconnected, open, and compatible, breaking down "data silos" and "application towers";
- High-quality educational data: Aggregate data from all scenarios such as teaching, learning, and management, forming an educational "digital foundation" that is manageable, computable, and evolving;
- Intelligent AI tools: Develop AI assistants suitable for teachers' lesson planning, students' personalized learning, and educational management decision-making, achieving large-scale "teaching according to individual needs";
- Supporting policy mechanisms: Reform simultaneously in teacher training, curriculum standards, evaluation systems, and data security to provide institutional guarantees for technology implementation.
From "Tool Application" to "Ecological Transformation"
"AI should not be simply viewed as an efficiency tool," Yang Zongkai emphasized. "It is redefining the relationship between 'teaching' and 'learning.'"
For example, AI can support dynamic student diagnostics, allowing teachers to shift from "uniform teaching" to "precise intervention"; students can receive adaptive learning paths, achieving "a unique schedule for each student"; and educational administrators can optimize resource allocation based on real-time data dashboards.
He revealed that the Ministry of Education is accelerating the upgrade of the national smart education platform and piloting "AI + Education" innovation application demonstration zones, driving technology from being "functional" to "user-friendly" and "commonly used."
AIbase Observation: The Entry of Educational Intelligence into the "System Integration" Phase
Yang Zongkai's remarks send a clear signal: Educational digitization has moved from isolated technology pilots to a new stage of "system integration and ecological restructuring." The fragmented model of "one app solving one problem" is no longer sustainable. The key to success in the future lies in whether we can build a closed-loop system combining technology, data, institutions, and culture.
In the global competition for AI in education, if China can first achieve "four-in-one" coordination, it will not only improve the quality of education for millions of students but also offer a replicable "smart education Chinese model," gaining a voice in global educational governance.
This quiet yet profound educational revolution is quietly growing from one AI-assisted classroom, one data-driven research session, and one policy-supported pilot project.
