Chinese President Xi Jinping has said ideological work in colleges should be integrated into the entire education process, underlining the need of firm Party leadership in higher education.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a two-day meeting on ideological and political work in China's universities and colleges, which concluded Thursday.

Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the meeting, together with other senior officials and college officials.

As higher education is a key factor in a country's development potential, it is urgent for China to improve the quality of its higher education, Xi said.

China's unique history, culture and national conditions have dictated the development path for higher education and colleges featuring socialism with Chinese characteristics, according to Xi.

As higher education shoulders the major responsibility of cultivating successors for the socialist cause, it must adhere to correct political orientation, Xi said, adding that only by cultivating first-class talent can universities become world-class institutions.

Improving the ability to cultivate talent is the core work of higher education and must be the focus, Xi said.

"China's higher education institutions are under the leadership of the CPC, and are socialist colleges with Chinese characteristics, so higher education must be guided by Marxism, and the Party's policies in education must be fully carried out," said Xi.

The president called for greater efforts to teach Marxist theory to help students lay an ideological foundation for their lives.

Ideological and political work is fundamentally work about individuals, Xi said. The work must focus on students, caring for them, serving them, and helping them improve in ideological quality, political awareness, moral characteristics and humanistic quality to enable them to develop both ability and integrity, according to Xi.

"Students should be educated to be aware of the development trends of China and the world at large," Xi said, adding that they should develop firm beliefs and confidence in lofty communist ideals and socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"Students should be encouraged to integrate their own ideals and pursuits into the cause of the nation," Xi said, urging colleges to educate their students to be bold trailblazers and "translate their ideals into concrete actions."

Xi stressed that colleges should make full use of classroom teaching, strengthening teaching on ideological and political theory through reforms to make ideological and political education more appealing.

Xi urged college teachers to be "disseminators of advanced ideology and culture" and "staunch supporters of governance by the Party," so that they can better guide students in their growth.

Adherence to the Party's leadership is essential to the development of higher education in the country, Xi said, calling for efforts to ensure firm Party leadership in the field and "build colleges into strongholds that adhere to Party leadership."

Xi called on Party authorities to prioritize the ideological and political work in colleges and strengthen their leadership in the field.

Party authorities should increase their contact with intellectuals in colleges, befriend them and sincerely listen to their opinions, Xi said.

Xi stressed the importance of the leadership of college Party committees, asking them to strengthen the construction of grass-roots Party organizations and improve their ability in ideological and political work.

Hailing the contributions made by college staff involved in ideological and political work, the president called for more efforts to foster qualified officials and teachers for colleges.

Liu Yunshan said that Xi's remarks are guidelines on ideological and political work for colleges under the current circumstances, urging authorities to act accordingly.

Liu also called on authorities to realize the significance of improving the ideological and political work and uphold the Party's leadership over colleges.

Source: Xinhua