OPINION> Commentary
Check drop in rural students
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-05 07:50

The decline in the percentage of rural college students may cause more social inequality, says an article in China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

According to reports, urban youths account for 82.3 percent of the total number of college students while rural students only 17.7. Compared with the 1980s, the number of rural college students has not decreased but their percentage has seen a 50 percent drop.

The shrinking percentage of rural college students is due to two reasons: One is the poor rural education quality, especially the quality of teachers and teaching facilities; the other is the gloomy job market, which makes many college graduates unable to find jobs after graduation.

Rural parents do not see any hopes in letting their children study with so much tuition. Therefore many of them have abandoned sending their children to college.

These dropped-out children have to join the massive army of migrant workers, which gives them a taste of the glamorous facets of cities but can hardly make them real urban residents. They might feel unequal, which will hinder social harmony.

Meanwhile, the educational inequality is also reflected in the job market - urban college graduates may resort to their resourceful parents while rural ones can't get any help from their family.

Therefore, the decreased percentage of rural college students is a danger signal - our governments should have invested more in rural education. Our education needs more equality.

(China Daily 02/05/2009 page4)