ChinalaunchesprecisionprojectstobattlepovertyfromkindergartenByYuNan
Themeasuresandtheworktoalleviateandeliminatepovertymustbeprecise.Policiesshouldbemadeaccordingtothe[needsof]householdsandindividuals.
ChinesePresidentXiJinping
OtherswouldhavebeenexultantbutLuFangfangonlylookedworriedasshereceivedtheletterfromthecollegeshehadappliedtoforadmission,tellinghershehadbeenaccepted.
Afterfinishinghighschoollastsummer,Luhadchosenthisvocationalpreschooleducationcollegeinsteadofregularcollegebecauseitstuitionfeeswerelower.Shehaddonesooutofconsiderationforherfamily’sstraitenedcircumstances.
Lu’simpoverishedfamilyinGuizhou,aprovinceinsouthwestChina,hadseenitsfinancesdwindlewhenherfatherbecameunabletoworkduetoanaccident.HermotherwasalreadystrugglingtopayfortheeducationofhertwosiblingsandLucouldn’timaginewherethemoneyforhercollegeeducationwouldcomefrom.
Soshewasexcitedtolearnaboutafinancialassistanceprogramstartedbythelocalgovernmentforneedystudents.“Ihaveappliedforit.Ifmyapplicationisaccepted,thesubsidyIwouldgetwouldgreatlyrelievetheburdenonmyparents,”shesaid.
Thatisjustoneexampleofalocalgovernmentimplementingprecisemethodstoalleviatepovertythrougheducation.Abettereducationisameanstoabetterwayoflife.
Since2015,Chinahasintroducedafullrangeoftargetedmeasurestoalleviateandeliminatepovertythrougheducation.Theystartrightfrompreschool,makingitimprovedandmoreaccessible,andcontinuethroughcompulsoryeducationtohigherandvocationaleducation.
Therehasalreadybeenremarkableprogressinpovertyrelief.Chinahasliftedmorethan600millionpeopleoutofpovertyinthepast30years,accountingforabout70percentofthosebroughtoutofpovertyworldwide.Theaimnowistolift70millionmorepeopleoutofpovertyby2020,forwhichmoreprecisemeasuresarebeingimplemented.
“Themeasuresandtheworktoalleviateandeliminatepovertymustbeprecise.Policiesshouldbemadeaccordingtothe[needsof]householdsandindividuals,”PresidentXiJinpingsaidwhilevisitingJiangxiProvinceinsoutheastChinainFebruary.
Improvingeducationinthepoorestareasispartofthegovernment’spovertyreliefcampaigntarget.Povertyreliefisanimportanttaskinthe13thFive-YearPlan(2016-20).
Pin-pointapproach
Aspartofthe13thFive-YearPlan,Guizhouisusingmappingtechnologyandbigdatatocollectaccurateinformationonthenumberofimpoverishedpeopleintheprovinceinordertofightpovertymoreeffectively.
Aprovincial-levelpovertyalleviationdatabasewasbuiltin2014,informedYeTao,headofGuizhou’sPovertyAlleviationOffice.Itpoolsupdatedinformationaboutresidentslivingbelowthenationalpovertyline-anincomeof2,300yuan($360)peryear.Theinformationcoverstheirlocation,thereasonsfortheirlowincome,thesubsidiestheyreceiveandwhethertheyarecoveredbyanypovertyalleviationproject.
Besidesfocusingonimpoverishedgroups,itisequallyimportanttodelivertargetedfinancialhelpindividually.Sincethefallof2015,Guizhouhasstartedtoofferfundingsupporttofinanciallyunderprivilegedstudentsinhighschools,vocationalschoolsandcolleges.Asupportedstudentreceives1,000yuan($154)peryear.
“ImpoverishedstudentsinGuizhoucangettailormadefinancialsupportfromtheprimaryschooltouniversitylevelandtheentireprocesscanbedoneelectronically,”Yesaid.
“Besidesmorework-studyprogramsandtuitionfeewaivers,thisisagoodwaytodeliverfinancialsupport,”saidMaoRui,ateacherattheGuiyangPreschoolEducationCollegeinGuizhou,whichhasacceptedLu.
Breakingaviciouscycle
AccordingtoXiangDeping,DirectorofWuhanUniversity’sChinaPovertyAlleviationDevelopmentAcademy,forthesustainabledevelopmentofeducation,itisimportanttoadoptdifferentmeasuresfordifferentareasindifferentsituations.
NorthwestChina’sGansuProvince,forexample,isamongthemosteconomicallydisadvantagedprovinces.Thelackofkindergartenswithmodernfacilitieswasamajorhurdleinprovidingqualitypreschooleducation.
Ifthereisalackofequalaccesstoeducation,povertymaypassdownfromgenerationtogeneration.Childreninimpoverishedregionsneedmoreopportunitiestobreakoutofthecycleofpovertyrightfromthetimeofpreschooleducation.ThereforeacceleratinguniversalaccesstopreschooleducationisanimportantpartofpovertyreductioninGansu.
InSeptember2015,anewkindergartenwasopenedinShidong,atowninGaolanCounty.Thecountyinvested5.4millionyuan($830,000)sothatthekindergartencouldhavethesamefacilitiesasthoseinurbanareas.Itsaw120childrentakeadmission.
“Over85percentofthekidsareleft-behindchildren,”saidWeiAixia,thekindergartenheadmaster,referringtothesocialphenomenonofmigrantworkersleavingtheirchildreninthecareofgrandparentsorotherrelativesandgoingtocitiesinsearchofwork.“Theirgrandparentstakecareofthemathomeandbeingelderly,arenotabletoteachthem.”
Beforethekindergartenwasstarted,thechildrenintheareareceivednoeducationatallathome.
Butnow,XuHaihua,whospeaksadialectathome,isgratefulthatherchildgoestothekindergarten.“MydaughterrarelyspokePutonghuabefore,”Xusaid.“Butsinceshejoinedtheclasses,I’veseenherchange.NowsheisabletospeakfluentPutonghua,singfolksongsandtellstories.”
Gansu’sfocusonbolsteringkindergarteneducationisinlinewiththenationalgoaltoboostthedevelopmentofpreschooleducationtofightpoverty.Theprovincehasafive-yearprecisepovertyreliefactionplanforpreschooleducation,accordingtoWangJiayi,DirectoroftheEducationOfficeinGansu.
By2015,73percentofthechildrenlivingintheruralareasoftheprovincehadbeenenrolledinkindergartens.
Lendingahand
Civilsocietyplaysanimportantrole,complementingthegovernment’spovertyreliefefforts.
DengFei,ajournalist,foundedtheFreeLunchprogramin2011.Theinitiative,providingfreefoodtostudentsinremote,poverty-strickenareas,hastodaygrownintoaninfluentialandtrustedcivilcharityprogram.ByJuly2015,ithadraised149millionyuan($23million)andmealshadbeenprovidedto454schools.
IntheageofthemobileInternet,socialorganizationsandprogramslikeFreeLunchareusingsocialmediaplatformssuchasWeChatforfundraisingandmicroblogsforcharityactions.
DengsaysFreeLunchbenefitsfromthepoweroftheInternet.“Anopen,transparent,socialmediaplatformworksasaninnovativefundraiserandencouragesmoreparticipationinpublicservice,”hesaid.
“Socialorganizationshaveplayedanimportantroleineasingthefinancialpressure[onthegovernment],andintroducinganadvancedmanagementmode.Thisiswhateducationdevelopmenturgentlyneeds,”saidWang,addingthatGansuhasmadefulluseoffundsfromvarioussocialorganizationssuchastheShanghaiHuaxinPublicWelfareFoundationandShanghaiSoongChingLingFoundationtoupgraderuralschoolfacilitiesandteachers’training.
WangMing,PresidentofTsinghuaUniversity’sNGOResearchCenter,calledcharitycampaignsusingsocialmediaagreatinnovation.“Ithasproducedresultsthattraditionalmethodscan’tachieve,”hesaid.
However,socialorganizationsinvolvedinpovertyalleviationworkneedguidance,accordingtoZhengFengtian,aprofessorattheRenminUniversityofChina.“Authoritiesatalllevelsshouldimproveexistingstandardsandmethodsforfocusingonimpoverishedareasandenhanceadministrativeandauditsupervision,”Zhengsaid.
CAChinaReport
WhatPrecisePovertyAlleviationMeans
TheconceptofprecisepovertyalleviationwasintroducedbytheCentralGovernmentin2013.Itsetsprecisetargetsforprojects,theuseofcapital,andendresultstoeradicatepoverty.Basedonthisguidance,anationaldatabasehasbeencompiledtobetteranalyzethesituationsofpeoplelivinginpoverty.Since2013,moreprecisionprojectshavebeenplannedandimplementedandmoneyforpovertyalleviationworkhasbeenre-allocatedmoreeffectively.