Education crisis in rural areas
Source: Xinhua |
November 22, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE of the unexpected by-products of China's urbanization is the decline in rural education over the past decade.
The number of rural students has dropped to a 10-year low with 63 primary schools and three middle schools closing every day from 2000 to 2010.
This is partly a result of the excessive merging of rural schools during the decade, according to a report released by Yang Dongping, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.
The number of rural primary schools decreased by 52 percent from 2000 to 2010 while the number of countryside pupils dropped by 37.8 percent, the report said.
The decrease in rural schools began 10 years ago when educational authorities advocated the merger of facilities in light of the shrinking rural population, due to China's urbanization. The policy was meant to improve study conditions for pupils and save educational resources.
However, the concentration of schools has made pupils' journeys to school longer and more expensive, especially in remote mountainous areas.
The average distance from home to school for rural pupils is 5.4 kilometers and 17.5 kilometers for middle school students, according to Yang's report.
Many students choose to live in school but malnutrition is also said to be common among rural students living in boarding schools. The lack of care from their parents has also caused psychological trauma for lonely students living in schools.
The difficult access to school due to the merger of rural schools also raised concern about rising illiteracy in some areas.
The dropout rate of rural pupils rose to 8.8 out of 1,000 in 2011, almost the same level as in 1997, said Han Qinglin, inspector of the Hebei provincial department of education and director-general of the rural education branch of the Chinese Education Society.
The continuous merging of schools has resulted in not only the dropout of lower-grade students but also led to a great number of students unable to enter school, leading to a rise in the number of children unable to read or write.
Authorities have realized the shortcomings of the merging policy. The State Council published a directive on managing rural schools in September which called for the policy to end.
Keeping necessary rural schools in place and improving the food and accommodation in boarding schools is crucial to prevent education in the countryside from declining, experts say.
The number of rural students has dropped to a 10-year low with 63 primary schools and three middle schools closing every day from 2000 to 2010.
This is partly a result of the excessive merging of rural schools during the decade, according to a report released by Yang Dongping, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.
The number of rural primary schools decreased by 52 percent from 2000 to 2010 while the number of countryside pupils dropped by 37.8 percent, the report said.
The decrease in rural schools began 10 years ago when educational authorities advocated the merger of facilities in light of the shrinking rural population, due to China's urbanization. The policy was meant to improve study conditions for pupils and save educational resources.
However, the concentration of schools has made pupils' journeys to school longer and more expensive, especially in remote mountainous areas.
The average distance from home to school for rural pupils is 5.4 kilometers and 17.5 kilometers for middle school students, according to Yang's report.
Many students choose to live in school but malnutrition is also said to be common among rural students living in boarding schools. The lack of care from their parents has also caused psychological trauma for lonely students living in schools.
The difficult access to school due to the merger of rural schools also raised concern about rising illiteracy in some areas.
The dropout rate of rural pupils rose to 8.8 out of 1,000 in 2011, almost the same level as in 1997, said Han Qinglin, inspector of the Hebei provincial department of education and director-general of the rural education branch of the Chinese Education Society.
The continuous merging of schools has resulted in not only the dropout of lower-grade students but also led to a great number of students unable to enter school, leading to a rise in the number of children unable to read or write.
Authorities have realized the shortcomings of the merging policy. The State Council published a directive on managing rural schools in September which called for the policy to end.
Keeping necessary rural schools in place and improving the food and accommodation in boarding schools is crucial to prevent education in the countryside from declining, experts say.
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