China is adding its president Xi Jinping ideology in its national curriculum to instill Marxist ideology among the children.
A new guideline issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) says, "Xi Jinping thought" will help teenagers establish Marxist beliefs. The ideology will be integrated from primary school to university. The guidelines include labour education "to cultivate their hard-working spirit" and education on national security.
In a statement, the MOE said it aims "to cultivate the builders and successors of socialism with an all-round moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic grounding." The ministry also said it is working on including themes such as party leadership and national defence education into the curriculum.
China's top body enshrined "Xi Jinping Thought" into the constitution in 2018 and, since then, it has been inducting the ideology in some universities.
Xi Jinping thought has 14 main principles which emphasise Communist ideals. It emphasises the complete authority of the party over the people's army and the importance of "'one country two systems' and reunification with the motherland". It promises harmonious living between man and nature and calls for complete-deep reform and new developing ideas.
According to Global Times, Primary schools will focus on cultivating a love for the country, the Communist Party of China, and socialism. In middle schools, the focus will be on a combination of perceptual experience and knowledge study to help students form basic political judgments and opinions. In college, there will be more emphasis on the establishment of theoretical thinking.
Though previous Chinese leaders incorporated their ideologies into the constitution, only Mao and Deng Xiaoping mentioned their ideology as thought.
