February 20 was an important day for Mrs Yang from Beijing. It
was her daughter's first day of the new school term. It was also
the due date for tuition fees. Carrying 7,000 yuan (US$870.6) in
cash, Yang was up early to rush to the junior high school to pay
the fees.
The school is jointly run by a key senior high school and a
company. "For the past couple of years, we have found it very hard
to manage with the high tuition fees," Yang told China Economic
Weekly on February 27. "We're very lucky to have our daughter
enrolled in that excellent school, even if it does not provide
board and lodging. We pay what the school tells us to pay, but dare
not ask to take a look at their itemized accounts."
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on February 19 publicized a
blacklist of eight schools accused of charging excessive tuition
fees totaling some 22.7 million yuan (US$2.8 million).
This drew a mixed response from the schools involved. Nearly
half of them thought that the accusations were unjustified. The
Ministry of Education, however, did not release any statement on
the matter, which only fuelled the discussion.
The ministry eventually made a statement on February 22. Its
stand was clear. It urged the eight schools involved to improve
their management and performance to prevent the recurrence of
similar incidents in the future.
Over the years, education costs have been eating more into
overall family expenses for many Chinese households. In addition,
an annual Quality-of-Life Index (QLI) report released in January
shows that 40 to 50 percent of low-income families in cities, small
towns and villages attribute their dire financial circumstances to
increasing educational costs.
The research, conducted last October by Horizon
Group, a Beijing-headquartered polling firm, and its
subsidiary, Horizonkey.com, indicates that from October 2004 to
October 2005, children's education accounted for 32.6 percent of a
typical rural family's total income. The figure was 25.9 percent
and 23.3 percent respectively for families in cities and small
towns.
Schools have become an object of public condemnation for their
exorbitant fees. Ironically, teachers' living conditions have not
improved significantly despite increased fees. In fact, many
teachers, particularly in the rural areas, are paid low salaries.
Moreover, many are not paid on time.
Qi Shu, president of a middle school in Harbin,
Heilongjiang Province, told China Economic Weekly that
the nine-year compulsory education policy has meant that schools
have to self-finance their teaching programs, and many are simply
unable to do so. Loans are a desperate last resort measure for many
schools to keep their operations going.
With regard to investment in education, the central government's
contribution amounts to only 9 percent. Provincial governments
contribute 13 percent. The sum total of these contributions are
channeled to funding universities and key middle schools. All other
educational institutions have to either rely on local budgetary
appropriations or raise their own funds.
Zhang Baoqing, former vice minister of education, once admitted:
"Based on my investigations, it is not elementary and secondary
schools but local governments (at county or municipal level) that
have forced schools to charge exorbitant fees."
Qi pointed out that current educational investments are not only
insufficient but also severely imbalanced. Established schools have
ample funds and their reputation alone is enough to attract
qualified teachers, thereby guaranteeing a steady student
enrollment. In sharp contrast, it's a vicious cycle for poorly
funded schools that lose both teachers and students on a regular
basis.
In an attempt to resolve the problem of fund shortages, many
private schools have mushroomed within the campuses of prestigious
public schools to increase student intake. However, there is a
catch. Such institutions do not abide by the principle of providing
nine years of compulsory education. Mrs Yang's daughter attends
such a school.
These schools are of a 'new type'; although approved by the
relevant authorities, they are considered to be responsible for
high tuition fees. And there is no real way of controlling the
situation. At the same time, their value and honesty have been
called into question by both the media and educators.
According to Ji Zhu, dean of the World Economy Research Center
at Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU), a
government education reform and development program launched in
1993 stated "Expenditure on education will account for 4 percent of
the gross national product (GNP) by the end of the century."
"It's been more than a decade since that program was announced,
but its goal hasn't been achieved," Ji said. "From 1991 to now, the
country's economy registered an average growth of 9.7 percent,
while the proportion of expenditure on education to gross domestic
product (GDP) hovered around 2.6 percent." Ji added that China
ranks almost last in Asia in terms of investment in education.
"Overcharging for tuition is a national problem," Qi said. "It's
unfair to put all the blame on individual schools because, in most
cases, they had the formal permission or tacit consent of higher
authorities to do so."
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Qi added that in the draft amendment to the Law on Compulsory
Education, which was agreed in principle by the State Council on
January 4, "The undertaker of compulsory educational work has been
expressly changed from 'the people' to 'the government'. It's hoped
that this is a good start."
Since China carried out a reform in the administrative system of
elementary education in 1985, collecting tuition fees and other
extras has become an important way of making up the shortfall,
according to Ding Xiaohao, vice dean of the Institute
of Economics of Education at Peking University.
"To lessen the economic burden on Chinese families, the
government should gradually reduce tuition fees and other extras
until such time that they are eliminated altogether. At the same
time, the government should strive to realize a balanced
distribution of resources among schools to ensure that all children
receive the same standards of education," Ding added.
The concept of a free nine-year compulsory education for all
might be making some headway in terms of implementation. Delivering
the government work report at the ongoing Fourth
Plenary Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC)
on Sunday, Premier Wen
Jiabao pledged that the government would eliminate all charges
for rural students receiving a nine-year compulsory education
before the end of 2007.
The new policy will benefit some 160 million children in China's
vast rural regions who account for nearly 80 percent of the
country's primary and junior middle school student population.
(China.org.cn by Shao Da, March 8, 2006)