During a recent tour of Xiehe Education Group's Wanyuan campus, Luo Fuhe, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and executive vice chairman of the China Association for Promoting Democracy got an insight into the group's 22 years of development and lauded the school for its success.

"The Xiehe Education Group has created a successful schooling pattern throughout the whole national educational reform and development period," Luo said, acknowledging Xiehe for its contribution in the private education sector.

Xiehe Education Group opened its first school in the mid 1990s and has since expanded to several primary and secondary schools as well as international education. From the beginning, Xiehe focused on an "East meets West" school ethos, which has brought a unique and progressive spirit to the curriculum which has been praised by parents, experts and the government.

Luo said that Xiehe has already been doing a great job in using modern equipment and teaching methods, but the school group also needed to focus on "innovation" in order to be in compliance with the government's policies.

Xiehe has mixed best-practice examples of Chinese and international school systems while also focusing on extra-curricular education.

Luo said that Xiehe could organize a research and development team consisting of Chinese and foreign professionals, making use of curricular resources and offering a multi-cultural and individual development framework to its students by using teaching tools and information technologies — a suggestions Xiehe representatives welcomed.

"Xiehe needs to encourage students to learn about the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, and further learn about the essence of outstanding aspects of Western culture. They need to combine the two to achieve a joint and harmonious development."

Xiehe's decades' long experience have fostered many talents. Xiehe alumni have joined top universities in China and abroad. Principals and teachers are among the best in their profession and are carefully selected to make sure that they understand Xiehe's values, the core of the school's success.

Xiehe insists on the understanding and practicing of the "East meets West" educational philosophy, which explores a middle path in which both cultures complement each other, making the school group stand out among both local and foreign schools in China. Through its co-teaching practices, co-principal management system and hybrid curriculum, students can experience a truly multi-cultural curriculum platform and explore their potential abilities to become global citizens in the future.

Luo pointed out that under the current "Three laws" revision of the National People’s Congress, the private education sector should seize the chance to amend and improve the Non-State Education Promotion Law.

"We must admit the way we were, and maintain an awareness of innovation," he said, adding that the education law aims to "improve" development and not to "manage" the private education sector.

Education is "people-oriented" and has to "face the future," Luo said, adding that Xiehe is on the right track to fulfil its dream of "A Journey of 100 years: Xiehe — East meets West" thanks to its unremitting and innovative efforts.