Chinese universities in foreign textbook survey after minister’s call for more ideological control

China's education ministry has instructed its major universities to carry out a survey on their use of foreign textbooks after the minister's order to tighten ideological controls on campuses.

The Beijing Youth Daily reported that questionnaires from the ministry's tertiary education department were sent to universities earlier this month.

The institutes must respond by giving details about their use of imported textbooks, including which curriculums are taught with the books, how such textbooks were obtained, and the importance of the textbooks in teaching such subjects.

Several Beijing-based universities, including the key universities and higher vocational colleges, were asked to take part in the survey, the paper reported.

Universities in several regions, including Anhui , Fujian , Hainan , Hubei , Jilin , Shaanxi and Tianjin , have also been required to complete the survey, according to notices posted on their websites.

The survey would "help to further strengthen and improve the regulation over the use of foreign textbooks", said a notice posted on Xian Jiaotong University's website.