BEIJING - The Communist Party of China (CPC) has said that education will cultivate the next generation's "innovation edge."

The CPC wants to equip students with "social responsibility, an innovative spirit and the ability to put ideas into practice," and these characteristics will be the basis for educational reform in the next five years, according to proposals on formulating the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) for national economic and social development unveiled on Tuesday

Higher education will be improved in the next five years, with the CPC pledging to elevate "several universities and subjects to, or close to, top world level."

The nation will encourage colleges to become application oriented should their conditions suit this, the document said.

In the proposed plan, the CPC is also moving to improve the quality of education and bridge the urban-rural gap, vowing subsidized education for all poor students for the duration of their nine years of compulsory education.

The country will also promote universal education for students of senior high school age, according to the proposals.

The document said the government will remove senior high school education tuition fees for poor students and gradually waive tuition fees for vocational education.

Despite government funding channeled to rural education, which resulted in major infrastructure improvements in recent years, the gap between urban and rural areas remains.

A dearth of teachers, who are usually underpaid, with low social status and dim prospects, has made it hard for the rural areas to catch up.

While ensuring nine years of compulsory education is available nationwide, more schools will be built in urban and rural areas and better teachers will recruited to rural schools, according to the document.