BEIJING -- The Ministry of Education has vowed to further enhance China's teacher education in a bid to improve the quality of teachers for the new era.

A number of normal education bases will be established and high-caliber comprehensive universities will play a part in nurturing and training teachers for fundamental and vocational education, said Ren Youqun, an official with the MOE, at a press conference on Friday.

The ministry urged efforts to invest more money into public education and improve the quality of university students and to promote free education in certain areas to attract more talented youths.

It called for an improved professional certification system for teachers, as well as coordinated efforts by local governments, institutions of higher education and primary and middle schools in teacher education.

Ren also underlined the importance of improving the quality of in-service teachers and pushing forward the state-level training program for primary and middle-school teachers, especially for those in rural areas.

The MOE and four other departments issued a work plan for revitalizing the country's teacher education in February 2018 to ensure the quality of schools and their majors.