This brief shows how prioritizing technology-enhanced competency-based primary education can help the People’s Republic of China (PRC) narrow the rural？urban divide and produce the skilled workers needed to drive a knowledge economy.

Based on an ADB-led project in the northwest Gansu Province, the brief assesses the need to ramp up teacher capacity and promote a mindset shift away from standardized tests toward a skills-based curriculum. It recommends increasing investment in higher quality technology infrastructure and support for primary schools, expanding project-based learning, and leveraging digital tools to boost efficiency.