Starting this year, the Chinese government will scrap charges
for rural students during their nine-year compulsory education.
This story will find out how this policy benefits children, their
families, and the countryside in the northwest China's Gansu Province.
This spring semester will be remembered by Qi Qin and her
family, as it marked the start of Qin's free education for the next
2 years.
Qi Qin's dad, Farmer in Tianzhu County, Gansu Province, said,
"We paid 150 yuan less than last spring term. We can use the money
to buy at least 4 bags of fertilizer. In addition, the government
waived farmers' agricultural tax. All this greatly relieves our
financial burdens."
Qin's parents said in addition to tuition fees, the government
also provides free textbooks to the 14 year-old. This saves the
poverty-stricken family 300 yuan each year, accounting for 30
percent of its annual income.
By the end of this year, the government will pay all tuition
fees for rural kids from 12 western provinces. And by the end of
next year, all children from rural China will enjoy free 9-year
compulsory education. The government's policy is regarded by many
as an educational revolution, as it targets to provide equal access
to education to all Chinese children.
Qin is one of the 160 million rural students to benefit from the
government's new policy. They make up 80 percent of the country's
primary and junior high school students.
One of the direct results of the policy has been an immediate
decrease in the number of dropouts. At the Dachaigou Junior High
School, for example, 14 students who could not afford education
returned to school this semester.
And school staff says they have been freed from the task of
collecting a range of fees so that they have more time to
concentrate on their teaching.
Jia Shengzhong, Headmaster, Dachaigou Middle School, Tianzhu
County, said, "Now we don't have to worry about education fees. And
we can concentrate on the promotion of teaching quality as well as
academic research."
For those who are extremely poor, the government also provides
lodging allowance. Children living in this boarding school say
though the annual 240 yuan subsidy is not a big amount, it will
help them smoothly complete their schooling.
And officials believe the policy will have a long-term bearing
on local development.
Zhang Yanbao, Chief Tianzhu County, Gansu Province, said, "We
encourage all kids to go to school, because we know they are the
guarantee of our future talents. Only with talents can we have a
reliable basis for further economic growth."
The free-education policy made it much easier for Qin to gain
knowledge. She hopes her dream of becoming a university student in
the future just like her urban peers will not be far away.
(CCTV.com May 11, 2006)