School daze

The free, compulsory education policy has had a massive impact in rural China, particularly in helping to reduce illiteracy rates.

In Dongxiang, which has a total population of 279,600, more than 97 percent of children aged 7 or older are enrolled in elementary school, with about 91 percent of them staying in education until the end of junior high, according to statistics from the county authority.

"Compulsory education has basically wiped out illiteracy among the young and adults," said Shang Xuehua, deputy director of Dongxiang's education department.

"Most villagers support their children in finishing junior high school as it is totally free and the children need basic reading and writing skills," he explained. "In remote areas, though, only 50 percent of students finish high school, with (even fewer) going to college."

Shang said his government is focusing on increasing the number of primary and junior high school students who go on to receive further education, and cited the fact that 190 young people from Dongxiang enrolled in universities last year - tenfold the number in 2000.

"For those rural children who don't have the chance to go to college, the government should provide them with a cheap and convenient vocational education," said Yuan Guilin, a professor of rural education at Beijing Normal University.

He said cheap, one-year vocational courses would be a suitable alternative for school dropouts.

"If they have to work after junior high, at least they should receive vocational training that could enable them to find a better job than carrying bricks," he said. "At the moment, most dropouts are dropped into society without any chance of becoming competent (in anything)."

Experts also recommend that schools welcome back former students looking to return to education after working as migrant laborers, no matter their age.

Liu Yunbin, deputy principal of Suonan Minzu Elementary School in Dongxiang County, has been doing exactly that for 29 years -- resulting in almost 10 percent of the school's 880 pupils being "over-age".

Some are up to four years older than their classmates, with the eldest being a 16-year-old in sixth grade, he said. "They dropped out to work and came back after one or two years. Most of them regretted missing out on their education and we always kept our doors open to them.

"Most of the dropouts will have earned several thousand yuan but they come back eventually and live rural life like their parents," he added. "Giving up education only pushes them away from urban life, not closer."

(China Daily August 31, 2010)