Where are the rural students?
Several weeks ago, a few RCEF staff went to visit rural schools about an hour’s drive from our headquarters site, Guan Ai School. The facilities were impressive: buildings in stable condition, spacious walkways, lots of room for running around. Coming from Guan Ai, which is bursting at the seams, we felt a bit envious! But something was missing. Many cavernous classrooms were empty or had just a handful of children all huddled up at the front. Campuses that could handle nearly a thousand students were only at 10% capacity. Where were all the students?
The explanation from the principals (who seemed rather numbed) was that over the past few years, their once bustling student bodies have siphoned off in large numbers to urban schools. Student migration is a reality of public education in rural China today. Even though tuition is free at public schools, many rural people have lost confidence in the quality of public rural education. Local people know the principals and teachers in the area. They know their backgrounds and whether or not they are responsible and dedicated. Educators with the best reputations have transferred to city schools where social status, payment and resources are better. From there, their students, starting with the most academically strong, usually follow and the result has been a mass exodus.
However, rural families shouldn’t have to look to cities for quality education. It’s a waste to let good rural schools lie empty and unused and there are rural educators who want to improve. Thus, RCEF is committed to helping rural schools reform so they can attract and serve well the 80% of Chinese school-aged children who are from rural areas.
Guan Ai School is a good example of this. It used to be the village public school but was closed down after dwindling to about 20 students. That’s when local villagers Mr. Yang and Ms. Sun came in, reviving the school under their management. They attracted around 200 students by delivering on their promise of hardworking teachers and love and care for all children. Now, with the support of RCEF, Guan Ai is pursuing more explicit reforms of curriculum and teaching. This will help it become a great rural education option for local people and pave the way for practical reform in neighboring schools. We hope you will support RCEF and Guan Ai in this exciting endeavor!
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Marco says:
Added on November 19th, 2008 at %0:%Nov %pIt seems that the empty schools are strong examples of not only the physical evidence of rural migration to cities, but also shows some of the reasons behind such decisions. There is no question that parents want what’s best for their children. So if they don’t feel that their kids are getting the opportunity they need they should be able to make the choice.I just wonder if it’s based on fact or on a kind of prejudice.
More money and resources are found in the cities so they attract the talent and knowledge from smaller areas. But the fact that enough students are transfering to the city that schools are being forced to close is quite amazing. Are the rural schools that bad or is it that parents think that they are? In any case, I’m sure such a phenomenon can cause harm to the rural communities future possibilities. What will become of such a place if the new generation is educated outside of the place that they live? How does it affect how they value their hometown, what they are taught, their decision to stay or leave?
RCEF, Guan Ai and other schools/organizations that are working to improve education in rural places seem to be first witnesses to some of the more harmful effects that migration may have on the communities they work in. Yet they are also on the frontlines of helping to preserve the communities that are increasingly being left behind. Rural schools have had and continue to have hardships but it doesn’t necessarily mean they should be abandoned. Because as important as education is to a community, if schools go then they take the next generation of students with them.