Wang Xu, a member of the ninth Qinghai Provincial People's
Political Consultative Conference, called for a stop to rising
education fees at its third session. He said students in poor areas
couldn't afford their college education and did not benefit in
terms of employment.
According to Wang, since 2000 education fees have risen 15
percent, with some areas going up by 20 percent. Students' expenses
at universities have also increased, and although poorer students
are attending due to college expansion, many find the costs
involved prohibitive.
There were 6,841 students at Qinghai Normal
University last year, including 4,167 from families with
incomes below local urban poor subsistence allowances. Of these,
2,908 were from families with annual incomes of less than 1,500
yuan (US$181).
Wang said students have to spend at least 7,000 yuan
(US$845.76)?per year, including 3,000 yuan on fees, 3,000 yuan
for daily expenses, 800 yuan for dormitory accommodation and 400
yuan for books.
He pointed out that in 1992 there were 592 counties where
average incomes were below the national average, but 307 of these
were in the west of China. In 2002, the rural population of the
country's?12 western provinces and autonomous regions was 280
million, with annual per capita income of 1,771 yuan (US$214).
However, in the poorer counties annual per capita income was no
more than 800 yuan (US$97).
In these counties, the lowest annual expenses for a student at
Qinghai Normal University equaled nine farmers' total income. A
student has to spend 28,000 yuan (US$3,383) to complete a
bachelor's degree, equivalent to a farmer's total income in 35
years. At these costs, it is impossible for a poor family of four
to afford it.
Though many measures, including the expansion of the student
loan scheme, have been adopted to help poor students, they and
their families still have to take on a heavy economic burden. Some
have to sell all they own and even borrow money to pay for a
college education.
There were 25,000 students at universities and colleges in the
east of Qinghai
Province in 2003. Over half of these came from rural areas.
Their annual expenses totaled 200 million yuan (US$24
million)?-- over 10 percent of total annual income of all
farmers in the east of the province.
An increasing number of students graduating from universities
cannot find a job in western China due to the local economy's slow
development. Many graduates from rural areas have no hope of paying
back their student loans without employment, and there is a saying
in these areas that more undergraduates mean more families in
poverty.
Of the 6,524 students who graduated between 2000 and 2003, 4,194
still hadn't secured work. Many of the 2,330 who had were on low
incomes, leading many farmers to believe that higher education
offers more losses than gains.
After struggling for years to pay for their children's
education, they've seen them return to the same lives as them with
no advantages.
Wang said this loss of confidence in education among parents in
rural areas is one reason that more and more children discontinue
middle school in the west of China.
He suggested that a system of public hearings on education fees
should be set up, and more government funds invested in education.
Controls on education fees should be strengthened and preferential
polices on student loans brought into effect for the western
region.
He also recommended a focus on vocational and technical
education instead of college expansion, and government help for
graduates to find employment and learn new skills.
(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, January 28, 2005)