Responsibilities:

1. Researching and drawing up policies on education; drafting education laws and regulations.

2. Researching and proposing schedules on national educational reform and development; drawing up education reform policies, as well as focal points, the frame and speed of educational development; instructing and coordinating the application of policies.

3.Managing ministry outlays. Drawing up policies and regulations on collecting educational outlays, educational allocations and educational investigations; supervising the collection and use of national education outlays; managing educational aids and loans from foreign countries.

4. Researching and drawing up the standard for establishing primary schools and high schools, as well as basic teaching requirements and teaching documents; examining and approving educational materials for primary and high schools; instructing reforms in primary schools and high schools; supervising, instructing and evaluating work for the nine-year compulsory education and eliminating youth illiteracy.

5.Managing university education, graduate education, higher vocational education, continuing education, social higher education, adult self-study examination education, and so on. Researching and drawing up the standards for establishing higher schools; examining and approving their settings, renaming, dismantling and adjusting; determining contents for subjects and basic teaching documents; instructing the evaluation of higher school reform and teaching; managing the application and coordination of the 211 Project.

6. Managing and instructing minority education and coordinating educational aids for ethnic areas.

7. Planning and instructing party-building work, ideological and political work, moral character education, physical and sanitation education, art education and national defense education.

8. Taking charge of teachers' work; setting up standards for teachers and overseeing the application of those standards; researching and drawing up standards for the size of schools.

9. Managing entrance examinations for higher schools; drawing up the enrolment schedule; administrating student records; managing the reform of the graduate-employment system; drawing up graduate-employment policies; organizing job placement for graduates.

10.Planning and instructing science, philosophy and social research at higher schools; instructing the dissemination of high and new technologies; coordinating and instructing important science research projects and national defense projects of the country being undertaken by higher schools. Instructing the construction and development of national key laboratories and research centers at high schools.

11.Managing, coordinating and instructing foreign affairs concerning education. Drawing up policies of student exchange. Planning, coordinating and instructing the Chinese language to foreign students; instructing Chinese education organizations abroad. Coordinating the communication of education with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

12.Responsibility for statistics, analyzing and issuing basic education information.

13. Drawing up national policies on language and a long-term plan; setting standards for Chinese characters and minority characters; supervising, coordinating and examining the implementation of such projects; instructing the dissemination of Mandarin.

14. Planning the administration of degrees and drafting laws and regulations for degrees; responsibility for the implementation of the national degree system; responsibility for the authentication of degrees; specific work under the instruction of the Degree Committee of the State Department.

15. Coordinating works for every branch of the National Committee of UNESCO, as well as the cooperation and communication among other organizations with UNESCO; instructing the work of the Chinese Standing Delegation of UNESCO.

16. Doing specific work under the instruction of the National Science, Technology and Education Leading Group.

17. Doing specific work under the instruction of the State Department.

Establishment:

General Office, Policy Research and Law Construction Department, Personnel Department, Development and Planning Department, Finance Department, Elementary Education Department, Vocational Education and Adult Education Department, Higher School Education Department, Minority Education Department, Teacher Education Department, Education Supervision Office, Social Science Research, Ideological and Political Work Department, University Student Department, Science and Technology Department, Physical, Sanitation and Art Education Department, Language and Character Administration Department, International Cooperation and Communication Department, Degree Committee of the State Department, Secretariat of the National Committee of UNESCO.

Address: No 37 Damucang Bystreet, Xidan, Beijing

Postal Code: 100816

Tel: 86-10-66096114

Website: www.moe.edu.cn