Education Minister Zhou Ji on Wednesday said in New Delhi that he was confident that the Dakar goals for Education For All will be achieved in China by or even before 2015.

Education for All is a goal of building a better society for the whole nation, part of the strategy of narrowing gap between East and West China, and a precondition for national, sustainable economic growth, Zhou Ji, who is here to attend UNESCO's Third High-Level Group Meeting on Education for all, told Xinhua.

"The commitment made by Chinese government is serious. As the Minister of Education of China, I am confident that the six Dakar goals for Education for All will be achieved in China by or even before 2015," Zhou said.

The World Education Forum in Dakar of Senegal in April 2000 resulted in the Dakar Framework for Action, which set six goals, including comprehensive early childhood care and education; free and compulsory primary education for all children by 2015; learning and life skills programs to meet the learning needs of young people and adults; 50 percent improvement in the level of adult literacy by 2015; Elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achievement of gender equality in education by 2015; improvement in the quality of education.

A High Level Group Meeting on Education for All was set up by UNESCO to monitor progress towards achievement of the goals set in Dakar.

The first and second High Level Group Meeting were held in Paris of France and Abuja of Nigeria in 2001 and 2002, respectively. India hosted the third meeting which concluded Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2003)