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Never too old to learn ... or queue for a college place
By Xu Wenwen and Yu Ning |
July 16, 2012, Monday
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SOME people came at 10pm, others arrived at 11pm, while more showed up around midnight. Although all over 50, they were prepared to queue overnight to secure a place at Hangzhou Retired Cadres College.
Registration, which started in the morning and ended for the day at noon, saw more than 3,000 people signed up.
Those who queued the previous night headed the queue, so had the choice of courses.
"The number of classes has increased from 30 in 2008 to 105 this year, with the number of the students from 1,400 to more than 5,000," says Zhao Wei, principal of Hangzhou Retired Cadres College. "However, there remains a long way to go to meet demand."
With September not far off, it's once again the season for colleges of continuing education for the aged to register students, and with numbers of older people growing, so has demand for places at colleges around the country.
According to the Hangzhou Working Committee for the Elderly, last year 1.22 million Hangzhou residents were more than 60 years old - 17.53 percent of the city population.
The average proportion nationwide is 13.7 percent. An aging society places burdens on society, in areas such as medical and care facilities.
Retirees have other concerns too, such as keeping themselves busy.
"I see people retired around me get isolated from society, and I don't want to be one of them," says 61-year-old Liu Jingen, who retired earlier this year. He registered at a college in his community recently and starts the course next semester.
"Studying will keep me in touch with the world around me and I can meet people with the same interests," he explains.
The goals of older people vary: some want to learn about medicine so they can treat themselves; some want to carry on old hobbies or develop new interests; and some want to study fashionable subjects - such as IT and English - to show they're not old fogeys.
And some find benefits in ways they didn't expect.
"I used to argue with my family members a lot, because as a housewife I stayed at home too much," says a 56-year-old woman, surnamed Zhao, who studies health care.
"But after I went to community college, I stop quarreling as I feel happy and satisfied."
Popular courses
In urban Hangzhou there are 11 colleges with 17 campuses for older learners, a real estate company's private college and a correspondence college which sets teaching sites in every district, all recruiting retired people under 80.
Each student can register for two courses every semester. All colleges charge low tuition fees - from 50 (US$7.83) to 150 yuan per semester. Local government provides financial support.
The number and type of courses vary. The Hangzhou Retired Cadres College runs more than 50 majors, while Zhejiang College for the Aged offers 26. Popular courses include music (singing and many kinds of instruments), dance, traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy and tai chi.
English and computer-related courses - such as multimedia classes - are popular too.
"I want to learn about computers so I can have more common language with my son," says Zheng Yun, 58-year-old woman who booked a place on a basic computer class in Gongshu College for the Aged.
"I learn English so I can understand how my granddaughter's English lesson going," says Tu Yongjian, another student.
But there's a common problem colleges face. Most mature students don't want to graduate, and keep coming to class even if they have completed the lesson.
Some solutions are offered by schools - for example, more teachers and more courses - but this does not solve the problem, as overnight queues testify.
Meanwhle, Hangzhou senior citizens are finding that they have to queue for more than college places.
Many old people's homes in Hangzhou - especially public ones, which charge less - have long waiting lists.
A 70-year-old man, surnamed Xu, registered with Gongshu District Senior Home a year ago, yet there remains more than 100 people in front of him waiting to be accepted.
Xu consulted the Hangzhou Social Welfare Center and was told that in total 1,000 people are waiting.
There are only 33,154 beds in old people's home in Hangzhou. Last year, the municipal government announced a plan to have one place in a home for every 25 seniors by 2015.
Registration, which started in the morning and ended for the day at noon, saw more than 3,000 people signed up.
Those who queued the previous night headed the queue, so had the choice of courses.
"The number of classes has increased from 30 in 2008 to 105 this year, with the number of the students from 1,400 to more than 5,000," says Zhao Wei, principal of Hangzhou Retired Cadres College. "However, there remains a long way to go to meet demand."
With September not far off, it's once again the season for colleges of continuing education for the aged to register students, and with numbers of older people growing, so has demand for places at colleges around the country.
According to the Hangzhou Working Committee for the Elderly, last year 1.22 million Hangzhou residents were more than 60 years old - 17.53 percent of the city population.
The average proportion nationwide is 13.7 percent. An aging society places burdens on society, in areas such as medical and care facilities.
Retirees have other concerns too, such as keeping themselves busy.
"I see people retired around me get isolated from society, and I don't want to be one of them," says 61-year-old Liu Jingen, who retired earlier this year. He registered at a college in his community recently and starts the course next semester.
"Studying will keep me in touch with the world around me and I can meet people with the same interests," he explains.
The goals of older people vary: some want to learn about medicine so they can treat themselves; some want to carry on old hobbies or develop new interests; and some want to study fashionable subjects - such as IT and English - to show they're not old fogeys.
And some find benefits in ways they didn't expect.
"I used to argue with my family members a lot, because as a housewife I stayed at home too much," says a 56-year-old woman, surnamed Zhao, who studies health care.
"But after I went to community college, I stop quarreling as I feel happy and satisfied."
Popular courses
In urban Hangzhou there are 11 colleges with 17 campuses for older learners, a real estate company's private college and a correspondence college which sets teaching sites in every district, all recruiting retired people under 80.
Each student can register for two courses every semester. All colleges charge low tuition fees - from 50 (US$7.83) to 150 yuan per semester. Local government provides financial support.
The number and type of courses vary. The Hangzhou Retired Cadres College runs more than 50 majors, while Zhejiang College for the Aged offers 26. Popular courses include music (singing and many kinds of instruments), dance, traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy and tai chi.
English and computer-related courses - such as multimedia classes - are popular too.
"I want to learn about computers so I can have more common language with my son," says Zheng Yun, 58-year-old woman who booked a place on a basic computer class in Gongshu College for the Aged.
"I learn English so I can understand how my granddaughter's English lesson going," says Tu Yongjian, another student.
But there's a common problem colleges face. Most mature students don't want to graduate, and keep coming to class even if they have completed the lesson.
Some solutions are offered by schools - for example, more teachers and more courses - but this does not solve the problem, as overnight queues testify.
Meanwhle, Hangzhou senior citizens are finding that they have to queue for more than college places.
Many old people's homes in Hangzhou - especially public ones, which charge less - have long waiting lists.
A 70-year-old man, surnamed Xu, registered with Gongshu District Senior Home a year ago, yet there remains more than 100 people in front of him waiting to be accepted.
Xu consulted the Hangzhou Social Welfare Center and was told that in total 1,000 people are waiting.
There are only 33,154 beds in old people's home in Hangzhou. Last year, the municipal government announced a plan to have one place in a home for every 25 seniors by 2015.
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