Poverty and education connected
By Zhang Ling
Original, chinagate.cn, 03-30-2016
Poverty and education [Xinhua]
No one seriously disputes the fact that people from disadvantaged backgrounds perform less well in obtaining great wealth when considering the world’s most influential people. If dire poverty in China were at a record low, education might be a great contributor to it.
The inter-linkage between poverty and education drew national attention during China's annual "Two Sessions" earlier in March, which was partly aimed at lifting China’s remaining 55 million impoverished people out of poverty, China Education Daily reported.
Trapped into Poverty
As Chinese proverb goes, knowledge changes one's fate; education is on its way to allow knowledge to change the fate of poverty.
Liang Wentong, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Guizhou Province, knew how poor his hometown was. Before jumping into self-employment, the 41-year-old either subsisted on farming or migrant work like his neighbors.
Living in Datuan Village, a poor rural area of Guizhou, Liang had enough of its limited road connectivity and quality of education.
"There are roughly 1,500 villagers in Datuan, and almost 80 percent of them have poured into big cities," revealed Liang, adding that he prefers self-employment.
"Several years ago, I rented a fish pond to launch a home-based fish-raising business. The practice of raising fish was not as easy as it looked. At first, I only managed the pond for feeding fry and rearing them into fingerlings. However, many fish died in my farm’s ponds during extreme summer heat," said Liang.
"Fish production at my farm was only around 2,000 kilogram per year, totaling a surplus of 10,000 yuan (U.S. $1,536). This was much lower with regard to my neighbor's farms. Many times, I planned to give up and work for others," recalled Liang.
Bridge out of Poverty
A large number of factors should be taken into consideration when fish farming such as the need for a constant water temperature, water from a reliable resource and aeration devices.
"I have bought lots of books regarding fish farming for survival. Naturally, my farming produced as much as 20,000 kilograms of fish after I made the necessary changes," said Liang.
"I was always dreaming of being taught professional fish farming,” continued Liang, "In distant rural areas, not every one of us can have the chance to become self-taught, let alone receive high-tech instruction."
Liang claims that locals can’t rise from poverty without acquiring the skills to make a living. Rural people in the village can have a better life as soon as they had practiced their craft and made a profit.
The top priority for reviving the rural economy is to cultivate traditional crafts people or skilled workers among the poor, as the 13th Five-year Plan has required.
"To help them survive from poverty is to achieve the goal of achieving prosperity for all citizens," said Liang.
Importance of Knowledge
Li Jiheng, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Yunnan, revealed that education plays a vital role in poverty alleviation.
"Acquiring knowledge is regarded as a targeted measure to address the poverty issue,” said Li.
Xu Zongxiang, a pioneer of home-based farming from east China's Anhui Province, believes that agricultural techniques employed by farmers can reap huge profits. Taking his own efforts as an example, Xu enjoyed a fair harvest last year.
"Thanks to the agricultural techniques I have applied, the amount soybean output reached 317.5 kilograms per mu, doubling the average of our villagers. A technology building was also set up to foster more talents in my village," added Xu.
"Nowadays, information technology and precision techniques are increasingly used in agriculture. Combining the technological application of farming with theoretical knowledge is exactly what our farmers really need," stressed Xu.
Market-oriented vocational skills
"We just want to have a stable monthly income," said farmers in rural areas, expressing that developing problem-solving skills makes sense.
"Sometimes, those farmers don’t really understand high-tech farming theory. To them, the key is applying what they have learned to real social practice," told Xu.
Zhu Guojun, a deputy to the NPC from central China's Hunan Province, said that in addition to farmers, crafts people living in poverty could revive their practical skills to become rich. He emphasized that governments could favor education to infrastructure facilities, industrial-based support or direct economy aid.
Zhou Chaohong, a chief engineer from the Water Resources Research Institute of Tianjin, believes that providing knowledge is the best form of charity. Understanding through his first-hand experience, Zhou asserts that a lack of skills makes some people's lives worse. Most of the poor people living in Hebei and Tianjian become poor again despite relocation under the central government's financial support.
"Rural and urban education should be balanced, and the coordinated development of teaching resources is much needed," suggested Pang Lijuan, a professor at Beijing Normal University, adding that a shortage of teaching resources was one factor which leads to rural poverty.
By Zhang Ling
Original, chinagate.cn, 03-30-2016
Poverty and education [Xinhua]
No one seriously disputes the fact that people from disadvantaged backgrounds perform less well in obtaining great wealth when considering the world’s most influential people. If dire poverty in China were at a record low, education might be a great contributor to it.
The inter-linkage between poverty and education drew national attention during China's annual "Two Sessions" earlier in March, which was partly aimed at lifting China’s remaining 55 million impoverished people out of poverty, China Education Daily reported.
Trapped into Poverty
As Chinese proverb goes, knowledge changes one's fate; education is on its way to allow knowledge to change the fate of poverty.
Liang Wentong, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Guizhou Province, knew how poor his hometown was. Before jumping into self-employment, the 41-year-old either subsisted on farming or migrant work like his neighbors.
Living in Datuan Village, a poor rural area of Guizhou, Liang had enough of its limited road connectivity and quality of education.
"There are roughly 1,500 villagers in Datuan, and almost 80 percent of them have poured into big cities," revealed Liang, adding that he prefers self-employment.
"Several years ago, I rented a fish pond to launch a home-based fish-raising business. The practice of raising fish was not as easy as it looked. At first, I only managed the pond for feeding fry and rearing them into fingerlings. However, many fish died in my farm’s ponds during extreme summer heat," said Liang.
"Fish production at my farm was only around 2,000 kilogram per year, totaling a surplus of 10,000 yuan (U.S. $1,536). This was much lower with regard to my neighbor's farms. Many times, I planned to give up and work for others," recalled Liang.
Bridge out of Poverty
A large number of factors should be taken into consideration when fish farming such as the need for a constant water temperature, water from a reliable resource and aeration devices.
"I have bought lots of books regarding fish farming for survival. Naturally, my farming produced as much as 20,000 kilograms of fish after I made the necessary changes," said Liang.
"I was always dreaming of being taught professional fish farming,” continued Liang, "In distant rural areas, not every one of us can have the chance to become self-taught, let alone receive high-tech instruction."
Liang claims that locals can’t rise from poverty without acquiring the skills to make a living. Rural people in the village can have a better life as soon as they had practiced their craft and made a profit.
The top priority for reviving the rural economy is to cultivate traditional crafts people or skilled workers among the poor, as the 13th Five-year Plan has required.
"To help them survive from poverty is to achieve the goal of achieving prosperity for all citizens," said Liang.
Importance of Knowledge
Li Jiheng, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Yunnan, revealed that education plays a vital role in poverty alleviation.
"Acquiring knowledge is regarded as a targeted measure to address the poverty issue,” said Li.
Xu Zongxiang, a pioneer of home-based farming from east China's Anhui Province, believes that agricultural techniques employed by farmers can reap huge profits. Taking his own efforts as an example, Xu enjoyed a fair harvest last year.
"Thanks to the agricultural techniques I have applied, the amount soybean output reached 317.5 kilograms per mu, doubling the average of our villagers. A technology building was also set up to foster more talents in my village," added Xu.
"Nowadays, information technology and precision techniques are increasingly used in agriculture. Combining the technological application of farming with theoretical knowledge is exactly what our farmers really need," stressed Xu.
Market-oriented vocational skills
"We just want to have a stable monthly income," said farmers in rural areas, expressing that developing problem-solving skills makes sense.
"Sometimes, those farmers don’t really understand high-tech farming theory. To them, the key is applying what they have learned to real social practice," told Xu.
Zhu Guojun, a deputy to the NPC from central China's Hunan Province, said that in addition to farmers, crafts people living in poverty could revive their practical skills to become rich. He emphasized that governments could favor education to infrastructure facilities, industrial-based support or direct economy aid.
Zhou Chaohong, a chief engineer from the Water Resources Research Institute of Tianjin, believes that providing knowledge is the best form of charity. Understanding through his first-hand experience, Zhou asserts that a lack of skills makes some people's lives worse. Most of the poor people living in Hebei and Tianjian become poor again despite relocation under the central government's financial support.
"Rural and urban education should be balanced, and the coordinated development of teaching resources is much needed," suggested Pang Lijuan, a professor at Beijing Normal University, adding that a shortage of teaching resources was one factor which leads to rural poverty.
