A national student information database will be implemented in September for smoother school transfers and more efficient student administration, the Ministry of Education revealed on Thursday.

Schools and local education authorities began in 2010 to build the database, which contains the personal data of 35 million primary and middle school students from eight provinces and municipalities. Another 14 areas are currently collecting information.

Each student will be assigned a permanent and unique ID number, which contains a profile of basic information, education history, previous assessment results and specialties in sports and arts.

The information, collected and updated at the schools, won't be allowed to be modified once it is confirmed and entered into the database.

According to Luo Fangshu, deputy director of the ministry's Education Management Information Center, the database will integrate the information of more than 180 million elementary and secondary school students nationwide for the first time.

"It will help the education authority better administer student archives, while making the school transfer process a smooth one, especially for migrant workers' children," Luo said.

With the development of urbanization, more and more children have moved with their parents to major cities, meeting issues with school enrollment.

Without a unified database, transferring their information to a new school has often been a complicated procedure.

"Once the system comes into operation, the school transfer could be done online, which can save a lot of time and energy," said Du Kewei, deputy director of the ministry's elementary education department.

According to Luo, an online school transfer service has been tested in Guizhou, where the provincial database was built in March, and around 130,000 students were transferred successfully and efficiently.

- Sun Xiaochen

(China Daily USA 08/23/2013 page3)