Government aid provides new opportunities for students

New beginning

Xu Zhanlong, a poverty relief official in Xiahe county, Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Gansu, said that without the government-led financial aid system, many students in the county would have chosen low-paying jobs after, or even before, they finished their nine years of compulsory education.

Many families in the county have several children, and it is simply not possible for parents to support all their children to finish high school, let alone go to college, he said.

Therefore, like their parents, most children move to big cities as migrant workers or find work on local construction sites after they graduate from middle school, according to Xu.

"The county offers 15 years of free education, from kindergarten to high school, to all students from impoverished families, and local officials have made great efforts to persuade dropouts to return to school," he said.

After concerted efforts, the county's enrollment rate for kindergarten students reached 91 percent last year, and the rate for high school students reached 90 percent, both higher than the national average, he added.

Liu Chunlan, a first-year high school student in Xiahe, has received almost 6,600 yuan in government grants, which covers her tuition, lodging and living expenses.

Liu's mother has a condition that affects her spinal column, so she is unable to undertake much physical work. That means the family of four relies on the money Liu's father earns as a construction worker, farmer and truck driver.

Poverty forced both of her parents to quit education during primary school, and they are determined that their daughters will not follow in their footsteps.

"Even when I was very small, my parents told me that knowledge can change one's fate. I have studied very hard at school so my parents' hard work would not go to waste," Liu said.

"To support my sister and myself to go to school, my father will do any job he can find, and no matter how tired he is, he never complains," said Liu, who wants to study a medical-related major at college so she can become a doctor and help with her mother's illness.

During the summer vacation, Duan was preparing for the new semester and learning about her new students, Tang was busy in his dormitory cracking different math problems, and Liu was helping her mother with household chores after she finished her homework.

At one time, all of them would probably have become migrant workers like so many others in their villages. However, thanks to aid from the State, they can now choose a different path.