Shanghai is to roll out the first government-funded school in northern Shanghai's Zhabei District to ensure poverty-hit students can continue their studies just like other peers in schools.

The free school, with tuition waivers, scholarships and financial assistance in other forms, will be open to students whose parents earn less than 3,360 yuan (US$405) annually, the city's poverty line.

It will cost about 11.7 million yuan (US$1.4 million). The investment comes from the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and its Zhabei Branch, which is the epicentre of the poverty-hit student population.

An existing middle school will be renovated to become the free school. It will have computers, Internet access and other modern equipment.

Top teachers will be employed from other middle schools, said Zhabei Education Bureau spokesman Lu Guozheng. The bureau is now drafting the academic standards for the free school, including qualification of students to enroll.

Lu said the exact date for admissions is still unclear but he said it will occur during May and June this year.

Cai Yun, a student in Zhabei No.8 Middle School, where 30 percent of students suffer from financial shortage, can't wait.

Cai's six-member family rely on her mother's paltry monthly income of 300 yuan (US$36). Cai has long relied on charity donations for studies.

"Sometimes I just think about leaving school. I do not want to see my mother toiling so hard to pay my bills," Cai said. "But I want to continue my study. It can pave the way for college and a handsome-paying job that can support my family."

About 10 percent of elementary and middle students suffer such financial woes and as many as 3 percent are on the verge of dropping out, said Zhang Minsheng, deputy director-general of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

(China Daily 03/26/2001)