150 million rural pupils go to school for free
Beginning this school year,studuents in rural areas will no longer has to pay for their education.The new policy starts from the fall semester, and will benefit primary and middle school children in the countryside. The new policy targets 150 million pupils in rural China. September 1st marks the beginning of the school year and students who dropped-out due to financial duress can return to education free of charge. The move was designed as a step forward in china's overall policy to ensure that all school-age children can enjoy nine years of compulsory education for free. Eight provinces and municipalities have also extended urban students from paying education fees. And Zhuhai city in southern China has extended free education to twelve years. The Chinese government has long recognized that education is a long-term strategy for reducing poverty. Corporations and enterprises also concur that investment in education enhances people's lives, creats a better skilled workforce, and produces educated consumers. In China's more remote and poverty-stricken areas, however, access to basic education is hindered by many factors, including poverty, long distances for children to travel to school, costs and poor living conditions at boarding schools, need for child labor, and lack of support for children with disabilities or special needs. In addition, irrelevant curriculum, poor quality of teaching, and lack of bilingual aids to support minority children who do not speak Putonghua often lead to absenteeism and drop outs. The majority of primary teachers in remote areas have inadequate pre-service training and in-service supports. Teacher turnover is high because of low salaries and poor living conditions. Local governments are seeking support to address all of these problem. For many years, the All-China Women's Federation, the China Youth Development Foundation, the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and internation nongovernment organization(INGOs) such a Save the Children have been working to develop solutions to address these issues, and they have encouraged corporations to be involved in this work. The response of the corporate sector has been positive. Multinational companies habe made and are making a tremendous impact on education in China. The depth and breadth of the examples in this book, particularly in the Education section, illustrate many of the ways AmCham-China member companies are helping. They are building schools, training teachers,providing child friendly materials and supplementary curriculum, and supporting students to continue their education. Some companies are reaching out to children with disbilities, migrant children, and orphans. Others are helping to develop students' interests in science and technology. IBM is even "reinventing education," promoting innovative teaching and learning strategies through teacher professional development. Possibilities for the future could include companies directing their corporate social responsibility(CSR) activities toward helping to meet the large demand for skills building for older children. Developing vocational education in middle schools can provide alternative educational opportunities that will help build a more skilled workforce. Corporations can provide technical training support through their employees or provide apprenticeship schemes for graduates. CSR programs can provide financial support and the facilitation of research and training to make education a viable option for every child and community in China. |