From Nangfang Network (in Chinese), translated by CDT:
According to a report from Xinhua News Agency on Mar. 6, 2006, Wang Xuming, spokesman for the Ministry of Education, responded to complaints about “high cost education” from delegates of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC):
“The public should change their views on tuition. During the era of the planned economy, the money children had to pay from elementary school through college was small because the government paid for everything, , but now that we are the era of the market economy, everything has changed. Non-compulsory education has become a type of family consumption. Since it’s is a form of consumption, families should choose it based on their wealth and intelligence. High quality educational resources, like Peking University and Tsinghua University, are limited; naturally, they are expensive and not for everyone. This is just like shopping. If you are rich, you can afford a 10,000-yuan coat, but if you are poor, you can only buy a 100-yuan coat from a corner store. Nowadays too many people are sending their kids to high quality schools no matter what their economic condition. It is irrational. It also contributes significantly to the rise in educational fees, and is one of the most important originas of the the ‘high cost education‘ view.”
Wang’s speech invited strong responses from Chinese netizens.
(...)
Read the rest of Government official’s speech invited strong responses from netizens – Nanfang Network (391 words)
© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2006. |
Permalink |
No comment |
Add to
del.icio.us
Post tags: education cost
Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall
