WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2004--China�s economy may be booming, with rapiddevelopment in rich urban areas fuelling its image as an Asian poweron the rise. But in-depth reporting by Radio Free Asia (RFA)highlights a major struggle among China�s poorest communities toprovide a basic education for their children--a right supposedlyguaranteed by the state.
In October 2003, official media reported that around 27 millionchildren nationwide were unable to attend school, representing around10 percent of China�s school-age children. Hong Kong newspapers saidthe total--allowing for gaps in reporting methods--could be twice ashigh in reality.
�My eldest son had to drop out of junior high school as we didn�thave the money to support his education,� a woman from the northernprovince of Hebei told RFA's Mandarin service.
�His tuition, books and other expenses were costing us 1,200 yuan to1,300 yuan (U.S.$157) a year, but the family�s total annual incomewas about 2,000 yuan (U.S.$241). Many other families in our villagecan�t afford to pay for their children�s education either,� said thewoman, who identified herself as Ms. Jiang, from a village nearZhangjiakou City, north of the Chinese capital.
Under a law that took effect July 1, 1986, all Chinese children areguaranteed nine years of basic education, regardless of economicstatus. For millions of children who had been unable to attend schoolor had to drop out because of poverty, the law seemed like a passportto a brighter future.
The reality has fallen short of those expectations.
�The Chinese government has been promoting market orientation foreducation in the last few years. This has had very negative effects,and they will become more evident in the next few years,� saidWilliam Lan, a professor of education at Texas Tech University.
�I have had opportunities to visit remote border regions. Teachersthere said they had not been paid for more than a year because of theresponsibility system at the local level,� he said. �Under thatsystem, the counties and townships are responsible for their schools,respectively. As a result, the poor counties and townships may havefound it difficult to finance education.�
Zhao Tingdong, principal of an elementary school in Yonglin Town,Yongning Mountain County in Yunnan Province, said he has seen manystudents leave school at the junior high school level.
�In the last few years we had more than 30 graduates per year... butonly about a dozen could afford to go to junior high school,� saidZhao, whose hometown of Yonglin is listed as a poverty-stricken areaby the central government in Beijing. He added that some families inhis area lacked even basic food security.
�People here live in economically stressful circumstances. Somefamilies do not have enough food to feed themselves, while others donot have cash income though they are not worried about food,� hesaid. �It is difficult for children to go to high schools without anyfinancial support from their families. As far as I know, thegovernment has never given them any financial support.�
China�s ethnic minorities often face a combination of poverty anddiscrimination in their quest for a decent education. The problem isso acute in Tibet that desperate parents send their children acrossthe border illegally into India to take advantage of the freeeducation there.
�Before coming to India I had never been to school,� one student toldRFA. The child, aged nine, is now in Dharamsala, India, home to theTibetan government-in-exile and a large Tibetan expatriate community.
�My mom is poor and we don�t have a house in Lhasa. Mom used tosupport me by searching garbage heaps for odds and ends. She didn�thave the money to send me to school. I came to India in the hope thatI can get a good education.�
Many other youngsters who have made the difficult and dangerousjourney out of China echo her story. One 12-year-old boy from Lhasatold RFA that his education under the Chinese system had ceased whenhis mother lost her job.
�I had to pay more than 800 yuan for tuition, books, school uniform,and other expenses. My mom used to pay for my education, but aftershe lost her job, she was unable to do so,� he said. �I hope I canget a good education here.�
Even in more prosperous urban areas, China�s weak taxation system anda �market-oriented� attitude among school administrators has led toan ever-increasing financial burden on parents, often in the form ofvarious �fees� levied for anything from school improvements to busfees or equipment purchases--even if the basic tuition looksaffordable on paper.
Each local government and school authority is left to fend for itselfin budgetary matters, and the central government has yet to clarifythe rules regarding school fees.
�It would be nice if the Ministry of Education could publishregulations, but I don�t think it will be able to do so,� oneresident of the eastern province of Jiangsu told RFA. �What it hasprovided is merely an outline, while all the provinces, cities,districts, and counties have their own policies... This is a verycomplicated issue.�
The consequences could be far-reaching, said Lan.
�Compulsory education should be free, but if education ismarket-oriented and schools become profit-oriented, many poorstudents will not be able to receive the education they deserve,� Lansaid. �The result is that society will become more stratified. Aschildren of the rich continue to have access to a much bettereducation than those of the poor, social problems will arise.�
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lackregular access to full and balanced reporting in their domesticmedia. Through its broadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to filla critical gap in the lives of people across Asia. Created byCongress in 1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA currently broadcastsin Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, the Wu dialect,Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo and Kham) and Uyghur. It adheres tothe highest standards of journalism and aims to exemplify accuracy,balance and fairness in its editorial content.#####