Knowledge no longer power for rural poor

"Knowledge can change your destiny" used to be a popular slogan in China. It stimulated millions of rural children to study to improve their and their families' lives. Study meant hope for the future. Another old saying was that study helped "the carp jump through the dragon's gate." But the carp's chances are getting smaller and smaller in today's society.

"It is bound to be hard for youngsters from poor families in rural areas to become members of the social elite in China," a teacher with 15 years experience recently said on an online forum. His remark sparked a new round of discussion and debate around the uneven distribution of social resources.

The proportion of rural students at leading universities in China has fallen fast since the 1990s. The ratio at Peking University fell to around 10 percent from the previous 30 percent. And according to a sample survey of students at Tsinghua University in Beijing enrolled in 2010, students from the countryside made up a mere 17 percent of the total, although rural students make up 62 percent of those taking the gaokao (college entrance exam.)

Educational experts and mass media have concentrated on why so few rural students make it to the top schools. The unfair distribution of educational resources in urban and rural areas is the top reason.

When urban children are enjoying kindergartens funded by the local governments or private funds, preschool education for many children in the countryside is still a blank, which means that Chinese rural children fall behind at a crucial phrase.

Rural education suffers from a shortage of funds, a lack of qualified teachers, management issues and numerous other problems. Meanwhile education in the cities has improved, and rich kids in particular now have access to first-rate schools, international teaching, and private tutors. Preferential enrollment policies and bonus points on the gaokao for taking particular classes or extra-curricular courses have only widened the gap.

By Huang Shuo, a Beijing-based freelance writer. larryhuangshuo@yahoo.com.