ChildrenatplayintheCentralKindergarten.NOfeesfortuitionandtextbooks,freeaccommodationforstudentsfrompoverty-strickenareas–allexpensesarecoveredbygovernmentfiscalexpenditure.ThesepreferentialpolicieshadcoveredallplacesofXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionbytheendof2015,thususheringinaneraoffreecompulsoryeducationinXinjiang.
InJuneourreportersvisitedtheCentralKindergartenandCentralPrimarySchoolinXiamalebageTownshipofKashgarCitytoseehowlocalkidshavebenefitedfromthefreecompulsoryeducation.Atpresent,boththekindergartenandtheprimaryschoolenrollmentrateshavereached100percent.Asidefrombilingualeducation,kindergartenaccommodationandpupil’sextracurricularactivitiesareallfree.Childrentherecanacquireknowledgeandlearnfootball,painting,dancingandmusicalinstruments.Thesecolorfulextracurricularactivitiesnotonlycultivatetheirhobbiesandopenupnewvistas,butalsohelpthemtoachievemoreinthefuture.
StudyandPlay
“Duckmother,haveyouseenourmother?Pleasetelluswhatshelookslike?”
“Yes.Yourmotherhastwobigeyesandonebigmouth.Gofindheryourself.”
EnteringaclassroomintheCentralKindergarten,wesawkidswearingdifferentanimalcostumesperformadramatitledLittleTadpolesLookingforMummy.Theirmellifluousvoicesandsweetandinnocentexpressionsimmediatelyrivetedourattention.AccordingtokindergartenprincipalRayhangulAbdukerim,inordertodevelopchildren’sChineselisteningandspeakingability,theyoftenarrangechildren’sskitstoaffordthemanenvironmentinwhichtopracticeChinesedialoguesandtherebyarousetheirinterestinthelanguage.
Inanothermultimediaclassroom,ateacherheldupa“talking”penwhileplayinggameswithherpupils.Shepointedtoaquestionmarkonthewallwiththepen,andthepen“voice”askedthequestion,tellingkidstoidentifythething.AccordingtoRayhangul,themultimediaclassroomwaspurposebuiltnotonlytohelpkidspronouncestandardChinese,butalsotocorrecttheirteacher’spronunciation.Thetalkingpenhelpschildrentolearnthelanguagequicklybyhearingitcorrectlyspoken.
Inaclassroomforlifeexperience,ateachershowedkidshowtomakedumplings,whileinanotherclassroomchildrenconductedscientificexperimentsundertheirteacher’sguidance.Intheplaygroundoutsideafewstudentswerelearningtrafficrules.Onekidplayedthepartofatrafficwarden,earnestlyexhortingotherstocrosstheroadattheintersectionaccordingtothetrafficlight.
Thekindergartenhas635kidsofvariousethnicitiesin17classes.Thesechildrenmainlycomefromnearbytowns,includingthosefromthefloatingpopulation.RayhangulinformedusthatthekindergartenappliesUygur-Chinesebilingualeducation,andsetsquality-orientededucationatthecorewithplayactivitiesastheprimaryformat.Itthushelpschildrenlearnknowledgeandbringtheircreativityintofullplayinthecourseofplayinggames,sopromotingtheirall-arounddevelopment.Thekindergartenalsoorganizesactivities,suchasafootballfanclass,parent-childgames,drawingcontestsandartisticperformances.Theyenhancepupils’communicativecapability,whilesteeringthemtowardsself-expressionthroughvariouscreativemedia,aswellasincrementallyinculcatingsoundbehavioralhabitsasanincidenttothisproductionprocess.
“Xinjiangnowenforcestwo-yearfreeeducationforpre-schoolchildrenagedfiveandabove.Ourkindergarten’senrollmentratetops100percent,asanumberoftheunregisteredfloatingpopulationalsosendtheirchildrenhere,”saidtheprincipal.“Thisnotonlyprovidesakidwithbetterstudyandlivingconditions,butalsofreesahousewifetowork,thusincreasingthefamilyincome.”
RuralChildren’sPalace
Erectedin1934,theCentralPrimarySchoolisatime-honoredcomprehensiveelementaryschoolinitslocale.Theschoolhas1,793studentsin41classes,withabilingualeducationrateof100percent.AccordingtoheadmasterAbduheniAbliz,in2015theschool’sfootballteamwonthenationalchampionshipinthe‘WhoistheKing?’children’sleague,anationwideethnicfootballchampionshipseries.“Thisleaguetotallybenefitsfromourplanfora‘RuralChildren’sPalace’,”hesaidproudly.
Institutedin2011,theRuralChildren’sPalaceisapublicwelfareprogramforruralstudents.Basedonexistingsites,classroomsandfacilitiesintheCentralPrimarySchool,anumberofextracurricularactivitiesarefreelyopentostudentsduringtheirsparetimeandonholidays.Abduhenisaidthat,in2011,theschoolreceiveda200,000-yuaninitialfundtopurchaseavarietyoffacilities.InthefollowingyearstheschoolhasreceivedayearlygrantofRMB70,000foractivities.Theschooltodayboasts21clubs,coveringfootball,dancing,drawing,handicraftsandmusicalinstruments,whichorganizeactivitiestwiceaweek.Studentscanenrollintheclubsbasedontheirinterests.
Thissemester,11-year-oldEliyarjanXamxidinregisteredwithtwoclubs–footballanddrawing.Accordingtohismother,MehrigulMijit,theintrovertedboydidnotliketocommunicatewithothers,butsincejoiningtheclubs,hehasbecomemoreoutgoingandhisschoolmarkshaveimprovedaswell.“Themorehelearns,thebettercomprehensivedevelopmentandcomprehensionhewillgain,”hismothersaid.
Childrenlearnfundamentalkitchenskills.
AUygurboypracticesthetambourine.SawirdinRozikariisaprettyUygurgirlwithafaircomplexion,curlyhairandrefineddoll-likefeatures.Shehasplayedtheviolinforoneandahalfyears.“IonlysawtheviolinonTVandinbooksbefore,butnevergotthechancetoseetherealthing,”Sawirdinsaid.Whentheviolinclubformed,shewasattractedbythewonderfultonessheheardandenlistedasamember.“Mydreamistobecomeaviolinist,”shesaid.Shecannowplayseveraletudes.
BetterUnderstandingoftheWorld
InthepastfiveyearsXinjianghasmadeunprecedentedinvestmentineducation,averagingexpendituresofmorethanRMB50billionperyear.TheproportionoffiscaleducationexpendituretoGDPhasbeenhigherthanthenationalstandard(fourpercent)foryears.Anumberofreconstructionprojectshavealsobeenimplementedinruralprimaryandsecondaryschools.Xinjiangalsotooktheleadinestablishingalong-termfundguaranteesystemforpreschoolbilingualeducation.Since2014,allSouthernXinjianghasbeencoveredbyfreeseniorhighschooleducation.Asforcompulsoryeducationinruralareas,subsistenceallowancesforboardingstudentsfromneedyfamilieshavedoubled.Thenutritionimprovementplanprovidesalmostonemillionstudentswithfreelunches.Thesubsidysystemhasmoreoverbeenestablishedandfortified,andnowencompassesstagesfrompreschooltohighereducation.
Atpresent,Xinjianghas3,239kindergartens,whichnowenroll520,000kidsfromminorityethnicgroups.Thepopularizationrateofpreschoolbilingualeducationhasincreasedto90percent,whilethenetenrollmentrateofschool-agechildrenis99.85percent.Morethantwomillionstudentshavethusfarreceivedbilingualeducation.HeadmasterAbduhenirelateshow,inadditiontolessonsintheChineseandUygurlanguages,classeslikemath,scienceandITaretaughtinChinese,whileotherclasseslikemusicandphysicaleducationaretaughtinUygur.
Asaparent,Mehrigulwholeheartedlyendorsesherchild’sreceiptofbilingualeducation.“WhenIwenttoprimaryschool,therewasnoclassthattaughtChinese.Ididn’tlearnChineseuntilIwasajuniorhighschoolstudent.KnowingChinesebecameanadvantageformewhenlookingforajob,”shesaid.“Asthenationallanguage,thewholenationshouldunderstandChinese.Besides,farmorebooksandinformationareavailableinChinesethaninUygur.Togainmoreknowledge,itisnecessarytolearntheChineselanguage.”
Inordertofurtherpopularizebilingualeducation,Xinjiangwillgraduallyinvestmoreinthespecialfundduringthe13thFive-YearPlanperiod(2016-2020),focusingonsouthernXinjiangandruralareas,thusensuringbalancededucationaldevelopment.Furthermore,XinjiangwillstrivetosolvetheproblemofashortageofbilingualteachersinsouthernXinjiangandmatriculate2,200freestudentsatnormalcollegeseachyear.
Pupilsatthe“RuralChildren’sPalace”playethnicminorityinstrumentsatanextracurricularactivity.PhotosbyJiaoFeng