Middle school graduates in poverty-stricken rural areas stand to
benefit from a newly launched employment program.
The first batch of over 2,000 middle school graduates from rural
areas are expected to receive training financed by the program,
called the Huaxue Lianmeng Training and Employment Program for
Poverty Alleviation.
The five provinces - Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province, Southwest China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, as
well as East China's Anhui and Jiangxi provinces - will all be
benefited by the program.
Training for the middle school students in various employment
skills will last three months in Beijing, sources said.
The program has initial funding of 1 million yuan (US$120,000),
which was donated by the Beijing Huaxue Lianmeng Training
Center.
According to sources with the China Foundation for Poverty
Alleviation, a total of 3,000 graduates from rural areas in poverty
will be trained per year. Two to three years later, over 10,000
will be involved per year.
"Employment of middle school graduates in China's rural areas has
become an issue that needs attention from society," said Zhang
Mingwei, executive vice-director of the Huaxue Lianmeng Training
and Employment Program for Poverty Alleviation.
"Most of the rural middle school graduates have become traditional
farmers after failing to be admitted to universities," he
said.
Statistics show a total of 5 million middle school graduates in
rural China return to their home towns every year.
"If they all become traditional farmers like their fathers and
grandfathers, the purpose of education has been degraded," he
said.
Zhang also pointed out the excess supply of labourers in the
country's rural areas will become worse, possibly resulting in more
poverty.
Officials with the State Council's Leading Group Office of Poverty
Alleviation and Reduction both gave positive assessments of the
program.
(China Daily October 18, 2004)