China, EU Join Hands in Boosting Northwest China's Compulsory Education

Home>>Sci-Edu

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 20, 2001

China, EU Join Hands in Boosting Northwest China's Compulsory Education

A compulsory education boosting project sponsored by China and EU was launched in northwest China's Gansu province last week. The EU is to inject some 15 million euros into developing 9-year compulsory education in Gansu Province. The fund will be mainly used for training teachers, adding teaching facilities, buying books and sponsoring students from impoverished families to complete 9-year compulsory education.

15 million euros to be invested

The EU is to inject some 15 million euros into developing nine-year compulsory education in Gansu Province, which is the first cooperative project between China and the EU in the education field.

Function of the fund

The fund will be mainly used for training teachers who are from the primary schools and secondary schools of 41 poverty-stricken counties in the Gansu Province.

Schools will be funded to add teaching facilities and to buy books.

Some students from impoverished families will be sponsored to complete the nine-years of compulsory education, according to the project.

Sources say that the project will last four years. During that period, a total of 3,300 teachers will be trained and over 7,000 impoverished students will be sponsored.

Efforts of provincial government

The provincial government will also pool 2 million euros in the project.

The project will be well known throughout the whole country if it achieves success in the four years.

To guarantee citizens' rights to receive education and improve the scientific and cultural quality of the nation as a whole, China has planned to make the nine-year compulsory education universal and basically wipe out illiteracy among the young and adults by the year 2000.

To do so, the Chinese government has actively adopted a number of measures. In 1996, an additional 457 counties, cities and districts in 26 provinces and autonomous regions, having a population of 190 million, or 16.4 percent of the population of the whole country, met the demand to make the nine years of compulsory education universal and basically wipe out illiteracy among the young and adults.

From Whit Paper on Progress in China's Human Rights Cause in 1996

Published by Information Office of the State Council Of the People's Republic of China in March 1997

Chapter V: Citizens' Rights to Receive Education(Full Text)

China to Inspect Enforcement of Compulsory Education Law

China Embarks on Basic Education Reform

Golden Key to Brightness

>> Full Coverage