China has made significant achievements in protecting and
promoting the development of children. However, the country still
faces severe challenges, according to Gnilane Senghor, UNICEF
representative and senior program officer in China.
The lack of information is one major problem, according to a
UNICEF report on the State of the World's Children which was
released in Shanghai on Friday.
The report pointed out that Internet users in China have
increased from 620,000 in 1997 to over 87 million today, making the
country second only to the United States in Internet user
numbers.
Yet, for the more than 60 percent of China's population that is
based in rural areas it is estimated they have access to only 0.8
percent of total Internet connections.
"With information and communication technology such an integral
part of education today, this digital divide will impact heavily on
the development potential of China's children," said Senghor.
To change the situation, Citigroup on Friday granted US$230,000
to initiate a twin schools program that will upgrade the quality of
basic education for around 10,000 children in west China and help
reduce east-west urban-rural disparities.
UNICEF and the National Center for Educational Technology (NCET)
will use the money to establish IT links between eight schools in
more developed cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou in south
China's Guangdong
Province, and 50 schools in west China's rural areas.
Participating schools will have technology integrated into their
curricula and will eventually make an important transition from
teacher-centered to learner-centered instruction in child friendly
learning environments, according to NCET Deputy Director Wang
Zhuzhu.
She also said in the coming years, China will inject 10 billion
yuan (US$1.2 billion) into distance education, 10 billion yuan into
building schools in poor areas and huge sums have already been
earmarked by the government for developing the teaching force.
(China Daily December 11, 2004)