1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3943

According to statistics from the education department of the Northern Region, the overall literacy rate in the area is still only around 10%. Especially in the areas occupied during the Second Sino-Ming War, the literacy rate is still far below this average due to the relatively small number of schools established.

The regions that relatively raised the average were Dengzhou and Jinzhou, which were the first to be included in the Haihan territory. There were many people in these areas who could recognize three to five hundred commonly used characters.

In old revolutionary base areas like Fushan County in Dengzhou, after years of education and literacy campaigns, the literacy rate of the population has now exceeded 30%, and the literacy rate of young people under the age of 30 has reached more than 70%, even far exceeding that of Qufu and Zoucheng, the "hometowns of Confucius and Mencius" that are famous for producing scholars.

A large number of young people with literacy skills meant that they could learn knowledge on their own using books and materials, and learn about current events through government notices and newspapers, thus having better job opportunities.

Once the public has a certain level of cultural literacy, it becomes easier for them to understand the policies and regulations of the state and local governments, and to find a development direction that suits their own circumstances.

The current focus of the Northern Region is to continue establishing more educational institutions, popularizing basic literacy education, and improving the literacy rate of the population.

"We hope to establish a higher education institution in Jinzhou, mainly offering industry-related disciplines. The site selection and construction plan have been initially completed. We hope to get the support of the executive committee and provide us with the necessary teaching staff."

After Chen Pingliao finished his briefing, he presented Ning Qi with a plan.

Higher education institutions are equivalent to universities. However, due to objective limitations, Haihan currently only has a few higher education institutions in Hainan Island and the East China Sea region, with only a few thousand students enrolled, mainly in practical majors such as military, engineering, finance, and law.

The primary reason limiting the development of higher education institutions is the severe shortage of qualified faculty. Initially, many transmigrators worked part-time as lecturers at these institutions, but as they aged, many retired, leading to a year-on-year decrease in qualified lecturers.

The current team of lecturers, composed of the disciples and grand-disciples of these time-traveling lecturers, still has a significant gap in overall strength. Establishing a new institution of higher learning will inevitably face considerable difficulties, and it is estimated that some academic leaders will need to be found among the time-traveling lecturers to accomplish this task.

Most of these people choose to stay in the warm south to retire, and it's hard to say whether anyone will be willing to take up such an academic position in Liaodong.

However, Ning Qi still decided to support the Northern Region's educational plan. He believed that regional-level higher education institutions did not need to pursue the same teaching standards as national-level institutions, and could offer fewer disciplines. Given the existing comprehensive conditions in the Northern Region, it was indeed feasible to try establishing a higher education institution.

"Then you'll have to put in a lot of effort to invite those retired or soon-to-retire seniors to see if any of them are willing to go up north to help you run the school. As long as someone volunteers, I will approve their application."

Ning Qi generously expressed his support. If the Northern Region was willing to offer generous terms to invite transmigrators to teach there, their students and followers would naturally follow, thus alleviating the Northern Region's need for high-level teachers to some extent. The Ministry of Education only needed to stamp and approve the transfer application; it didn't necessarily have to issue a document or use an administrative order to dispatch personnel. Chen Pingliao interpreted this as Ning Qi only offering verbal support, while actually maintaining a neutral stance—not opposing, but also not intending to help the Northern Region.

But once Ning Qi gives his approval, the Northern Region will push for its implementation, and construction of the campus will begin within the year. Chen Yixin's plan is to open the school and enroll students within two years, because he understands that the number of transmigrators who can teach will decrease year by year, so he must hurry.

Regarding the current shortage of teachers in the northern region, Ning Qi also offered his suggestions: the northern region could send more teachers to Hangzhou or even Sanya for further training, and at the same time, establish its own teacher training institutions to cultivate grassroots teachers with basic teaching abilities.

Ning Qi has been engaged in education for many years and knows that literacy rate is the best reflection of the quality of education in a region. The fact that the literacy rate of people in the northern region has been increasing year by year is enough to show the importance that Chen Yixin attaches to this work.

Overall, Ning Qi did not nitpick and still highly praised the cultural and educational work of the Northern Region.

After finishing their business, Chen Pingliao noticed that Ning Qi still had no intention of seeing the guest off, so he inquired about Ning Zijing's situation.

When Ning Zijing was mentioned, Ning Qi's expression softened considerably. He told Chen Pingliao that Ning Zijing had already left Jiujiang for Nanchang to jointly establish the Jiangxi Local Management Committee with Shi Chengwu and others. However, Ning Zijing had limited experience in governance, so there would likely be many problems in this process. The Executive Committee would probably send a guidance team to Jiangxi soon.

"One should fulfill one's responsibilities in one's position; this principle can only be understood after one has sat in that position. When we established the Haihan Kingdom, we were not much older than you are now, and we figured out many things step by step on our own. This country will eventually be handed over to your generation. The more you know now, the easier it will be when you take over in the future. Don't treat the tasks assigned to you as just tasks to be completed; think carefully about their significance to you and to the country."

After leaving the Ministry of Education, Chen Pingliao reflected on Ning Qi's teachings and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Although he was no longer a student, he still couldn't help but feel a strange sense of nervousness when facing his former strict teacher.

However, in Chen Pingliao's own opinion, he actually hoped that the resources of the Northern Region could be invested more in military development, especially in military operations launched against foreign powers, rather than pouring large amounts of resources into industry and education as is currently the case.

The benefits of foreign wars are immediate, while industrial and cultural projects often require huge investments and yield slow returns. Chen Pingliao does not like this kind of work that requires patience and slow management.

One of his goals for this trip south was to seek opportunities to participate in military operations outside the Northern Region. However, judging from his meeting with Yan Chujie today, apart from the order to expand the national border to the north, the Ministry of National Defense seems to have no plans to assign combat missions to the Northern Region for the time being. Therefore, he will have to find his own way.

However, Chen Pingliao was not in a hurry, because Chen Yixin had already made the necessary arrangements for him, and he only needed to wait patiently in Hangzhou for the right opportunity to arise.

After visiting multiple departments and completing seven or eight performance review meetings, Chen Pingliao finally welcomed the start of the officer training course.