Public debate has raged for years on the topic of whether China's millions of single children are spoiled and fragile, and similar doubts also extend to university tudents around the country.
One university in East China's Zhejiang Province has addressed the issue by creating a program intended to put select students straight into the real world – even painfully so by having them experience hard work and financial struggles.
Zhejiang Normal University launched the fifth session of its unusual "Testing Viability" training on July 31 in the capital. Earlier versions sent students to live leanly in the cies of Xiamen, Shenzhen, Qingdao and Shanghai.
The 30 participants all had to pass rigorous written exams and interviews to have the privilege of receiving only 50 yuan to cover 15 days of life in this city.
The idea of the program is to force the students to all find jobs, as organizers figured that the rock bottom of possible daily expenses was 12 yuan, meaning the cash would run out well before the 15 day limit. Students unable to find some kind of work have to accept failure and return to campus. So far, none of the 30 brave souls have had to turn back.
Zhou Yunyun purchased 6 yuan of food on the train ride to Beijing, only later realizing that gave her less initial money than her classmates. Luckily, she managed to quickly find a job as a waitress at a local restaurant.
Tutoring brings in a relatively pain-free 120 a day for Zhang Yiwei, while classmate Ye Zhaoyun earns his money a harder way as a water delivery boy, carrying more than 200 large bottles a day. "I've never done this kind of job before and I'm hoping this will be the last and only time the thin young man admitted.
All the students said they made it through the hard days by working together and relying on each other. They also noted that the experience gave them a much clearer picture of the enormous gaps between different people in society and the limitations of learning just from books.
"We have also learned to thank people who help us, and we will donate the money we earn in Beijing to wherever it is most needed," one student said.
"They decided to take part in this program under influence from former participants and with a dream of challenging themselves," notedu Lina, the students' teacher.
It is an eye-opening, altruistic turn that could reap rewards, as many domestic companies have expressed interest in recruiting participants following wide press coverage of the program.
(Beijing Today August 16, 2004)
