"There will inevitably be all kinds of problems in the process of exploring science, from which students can have a real experience of scientific practice," said Cai Minggang, a professor at Xiamen University.

In December last year, Fujian put forward 20 measures to improve science education, including deepening curriculum and teaching reforms, improving education resources and giving play to the public sites that are suitable for science popularization.

In particular, it required opening such sites as science and technology museums, observatories and memorial halls of scientists to primary and middle school students free of charge. Some research institutes were opened to the public for the first time, covering the sectors of science, agriculture and the environment.

These efforts were a response to a set of guidelines on strengthening the education of science for primary and middle school students that was released by the Ministry of Education and 17 other authorities last May.

The document encouraged universities, research institutes, children's centers, museums and libraries to open their venues, bases, parks or even production lines to students to help underpin scientific education.

The latest statistics show there are 1,683 sci-tech and related museums across the country, of which 1,090 are free to the public.

People's scientific knowledge to some extent determines the country's development in science and technology. China aims to become a global leader in science and technology by 2035. Taking education and technology as basic underpinnings for Chinese modernization, it is committed to the strategy of invigorating China through science and education.

"Social forces have rich resources for education in science and have widened the boundary of education," said Huang Xiao, dean of the College of Education at Zhejiang Normal University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, calling for greater efforts to build consensus, do a good job of top-level design and optimize resource layout to improve science education.

Xinhua