From next month students lacking funds while attending secondary
vocational schools nationwide will have access to special state
grant funding of 800 million yuan (US$99 million), which will be
available annually.
The fund, allocated by the central government, is to help cover
tuition fees for 800,000 needy students at public and private
schools. Each of these students could receive a yearly subsidy of
1,000 yuan (US$125), the Ministry of Education announced at a press
conference yesterday.
Students who apply for the grant require to come from poorer
families and certification of their family circumstances issued by
local authorities is essential, the ministry said. The standard for
determining exactly who qualifies varies from province to
province.
Wu Qidi, vice minister of education, said the grant was "the
first national aid project for secondary vocational school
students."
The only aid project at the moment is for poorer university
students, but Wu said the central government was making efforts to
establish a comprehensive assistance system to help all students
from impoverished families no matter whether they were at
university, vocational school or common secondary school.
Ministry figures indicate that about 4.8 million secondary
vocational school students in China are suffering from poverty,
accounting for 30 percent of the total 16 million. Vocational
schools are an alternative to ordinary secondary schools and offer
education with a focus on work skills.
Wu said the majority of vocational students in China were from
rural areas or urban families with low incomes. "Without financial
aid they're very likely to drop out of school because of tuition
costs," she said. Tuition fees for secondary vocational schools
vary from 1,000 yuan (US$125) to 2,000 yuan (US$250) a year in
different areas of China.
For those who fail to get the state grant, applying for
scholarships or loans might be another way. The ministry has also
urged local governments to set up scholarships for top students at
secondary vocational schools and has encouraged financial
institutes to provide low-interest loans for those pursuing their
education.
Orphans, the disabled and students from minority groups may
have their tuition waived, according to the ministry.
Wu estimated that with the help of local governments, financial
institutes and other social organizations about 20 percent of the
total number of secondary vocational students may get financial aid
in some form.
In some areas, such as east China's Jiangsu Province, aid for secondary vocational
students started in 2004. Yu Haitao, an 18-year-old third-year
student at Shuyang vocational training center, is among the first
group of students to benefit from the scheme.
The girl from a rural family with a yearly household income of
500 yuan (US$62.5) is having her 2,000 yuan (US$250) tuition fee
waived each year. "Without the help from the school and government
I could only have become a migrant worker," she said.
Yu said she was happy that more students like her would get
financial help by way of the state grant, and thus "rural
students have another way to leave the countryside other than going
to university."
(China Daily August 17, 2006)