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Poor county extends compulsory education

By Wang Wei: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, November 24, 2011

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In 2009, the county government turned its attention to free high school education. The government offered to pay all tuition fees, with the standard of 2,000 yuan (US$315) every year for each student. Students needn't pay fees any more, except those for books, accommodations and personal accident insurance. All kids were eligible to receive a high school education as long as they want to go to school.

This autumn, all preschoolers were exempted from charges for their three-year preschool education. The 2.4-million-yuan policy provided three more years of education to 2,040 students.

The expanded compulsory education program has achieved remarkable results in the county. Its high school enrollment rate is now 96 percent, up 40 percent. The number of students going on to pursue undergraduate degrees has increased from zero in the 1980s to almost 280 in 2011.

Early in the 1980s, local government officials donated money to build Ningshan Middle School. Now, its four-floor teaching building is one of the most beautiful buildings in the county, providing students with a gymnasium, laboratory, and library.

Ningshan Middle School [File photo]

"We have regulations to limit and reduce the number of meetings, use electronic documents and cut down administrative expenditures. All county officials, including the party secretary and county mayor, are forbidden to buy new cars for official use. Their accommodation fees on a business trip cannot exceed 120 yuan (US$18.9) a night." Chen said the policies were aimed to save money for education.

According to Shi Gongfu, director of the Education and Sports Bureau in Ningshan County, locals have a long tradition of respecting teachers and promoting education. "The 15-year free education policy is attributed to efforts by three successive governments," he said.

County officials, most former teachers, "have an extraordinarily deep affection for education," he added.

Driving along the roads in Ningshan County, big signs bearing the local government's pro-education slogans are a frequent site. "Knowledge changes fate," they read. "Education creates the future."

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