More educational resources needed for less developed regions
Updated: 2016-05-26 07:33
By Wang Yiqing(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
A student goes through a metal detector in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. [Photo/IC] |
As this year's gaokao, or national college entrance examination, approaches, the adjustments to the college enrollment policy in some regions have caused public concern.
With some developed provinces and municipalities offering some of their existing quota of college places to students from the less-developed central and western regions, parents and students fear they will lose out as a result of the adjustments, and complain that it's unfair for their children to give way to students whose scores in the exam might be lower.
Despite the education authorities' repeated promises that the original local recruitment quotas will not shrink, there have been growing calls in some populous provinces for unified exam papers and college recruitment policies nationwide, meaning all colleges should enroll students according to the same admission score no matter where the candidates are from. Currently different regions at the provincial level set their own exam papers and college recruitment quotas.
Striving for fairness is reasonable and necessary in any society, but the question is how to achieve that goal in real life. This "absolutely fair" method believes exam scores can guarantee fairness and help select the best students under a unified standard, but it ignores the students' different situations and fails to realize the negative effects it may have.
The strong resistance of students and parents to any adjustments in college enrollment policies is understandable as they may impact an individual's entire life. In any society education is the most accessible channel to achieve social mobility. And even though a college degree cannot guarantee a brilliant future as it used to, a higher education is still a necessity in the pursuit of "a better life" for most people in China. Especially for poorer families, it may be the only way children can change their fate.
With the gap between the rich and the poor in the country growing ever wider, educational fairness is a highly sensitive issue.
Compared with students from rich families and the more developed regions, students from poor families and the less developed regions are in a disadvantaged position in front of the same examination paper. If all the colleges admit students according to the same admission score, it is imaginable that they will enroll more students from well-off families and the developed regions, as these families can afford to pay more for their children's education. In addition, if the admission score becomes the only criterion for college enrollment, basic education will be more exam-oriented, and the best educational resources will be further concentrated in the developed regions. This would not only reduce the chance for students from undeveloped regions and poor families to have higher education, but would also undermine the cultivation of the country's best talents.
As college enrollment is a competition for limited educational resources, there seems no win-win result that can satisfy everyone.
But the real question is: What do we really talk about when we talk about fairness?
And the answer to that is we're talking about interests.
China's college enrollment dilemma is the same as the hukou (household registration) problem. Because of limited resources and the actual situations in different areas, people in an inferior position have less access to resources, and those in more advantageous positions are reluctant to give them more access, fearing they will lose some of the advantages they enjoy.
Instead of debating the "legitimacy" of this situation, people should realize that limited and unbalanced educational resources among different regions are the root of the problem.
To promote relative fairness, the education authorities are providing favorable college enrollment policies to candidates from the central and western regions. But this should only be a short-term measure, in the long run, what is needed is more educational resources for the less developed regions, as this is what will really benefit students there.
The author is a writer with China Daily. wangyiqing@chinadaily.com.cn
- 2,000 refugees relocated on first day of major police operation
- No sign of EgyptAir plane technical problems before takeoff
- Chinese students at U. of Iowa accused of online cheating
- US Justice Dept. seeks death penalty for South Carolina shooter
- Global health entering new era: WHO chief
- Brazil's planning minister steps aside after recordings revelation
- Men vs. Machine: different robots in daily life
- Following Alibaba, its online merchants now eye listings
- Traditional dresses for Yugur women in Northwest China
- Students pose for graduation photo with performance
- Kids climb vine ladder in 'cliff village' in Sichuan
- Stars of Lijiang River: Elderly brothers with white beards
- Wealthy Chinese children paying money to learn British manners
- Military-style wedding: Fighter jets, grooms in dashing uniforms
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Liang avoids jail in shooting death
China's finance minister addresses ratings downgrade
Duke alumni visit Chinese Embassy
Marriott unlikely to top Anbang offer for Starwood: Observers
Chinese biopharma debuts on Nasdaq
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |