ROLE PLAYING: County head-level caders from Dafeng, Jiangsu Province, in a scenario simulation class in China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong in Shanghai on May 16, 2011. In the class, they play the roles of mayor and Party Secretary to handle cases simulating real-life scenarios (REN LONG)

Cadres at national training facilities are primarily selected by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and provincial and municipal counterparts.

Since last year, central government cadres at or above the rank of department head are required to take a certain number of credit hours of courses, usually 40-60 credit hours per year, at seven designated universities in Beijing including the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Chinese Academy of Governance, and such prestigious universities as Peking and Tsinghua. Cadres can decide which courses to take in which universities as long as the courses are related to their work and can give them the knowledge they lack.

Over the years, cadre training facilities have adjusted their curriculums and teaching methods to better meet cadres' needs.

In 2010, the General Office of the Central Committee of the CPC issued the 2010-20 cadre education and training reform outline, which stated that the basic principles of cadre education are to be innovative, practical and result-driven, and oriented toward serving the people.

For instance, the academy in Jinggangshan has reformed traditional force-fed pedagogy by adding case studies and an internship-like course called "social practices." Multimedia technology and the Internet are used in instruction.

Local orientation

In addition to national CPC training academies, many local cadre training facilities exist to train cadres at county and township level governments.

National Party schools have recently opened their doors to grassroots cadres. "Local cadres mainly include Party leaders, government officials, and leaders of economic entities and social organizations at county, township and village levels," said Yang.

According to Beijing-based Outlook Weekly, since October 2008, county Party secretaries have been eligible for training in national facilities. In November 2008, more than 2,000 county Party secretaries were admitted into national CPC training facilities.

In November 2011, the General Office of the Central Committee of the CPC issued a circular on strengthening and reforming local cadre education.

Local cadres work on the front lines and are executors of the Party's policies, and their ability and conduct are important to the overall image of the cadres and the sound development of the Party and the country, said the circular.

According to the document, higher level training facilities are encouraged to recruit local trainees and make quality training resources accessible to local cadres.

Generally, every year, local caders at county and township governments should complete at least 100 credit hours, or 12 days of training and other local caders at least 40 credit hours, or five days of training.

Wang Jichuan, Party Secretary of Tianjia Village, Nanding Town, Zhangdian District of Zibo in Shandong Province, recently completed a training session in the China Executive Leadership Academy Jinggangshan.

Wang and 19 other village cadres from Zhangdian District were the first group of village cadres attending the academy.

"The stability and development of villages have bearing on overall social stability and development. That is why village cadres were sent to the academy," Sun Jibo, head of the Organization Department of the CPC's Zhangdian District Committee, told Zibo Daily, a local newspaper.

Wang Yong, Secretary of the CPC Zhangdian District Committee, said that improving the qualification of village cadres is "laying the groundwork" for the district's future development.

Wang Jichuan felt invigorated by the training at Jinggangshan. "I was very touched by the unshakable faith of the old-generation revolutionaries and their lasting passion," he said.

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