APPEALS

Kham Aid Foundation

REASONS WHY CHILDREN DO NOT ATTEND SCHOOL

Comments by a Primary School Headmaster

Interviewed by Kara Jenkinson
Education Program Director

[Note: the school described here is located in a poor rural township in western Sichuan. Because of the sensitivity of the information, we omit the name of the school and changed some details about it. Not all schools are the same, but this one is typical in many ways.]

Background:

160 students attend this school, with 62 of them boarding. Government regulations state that all children should board, however this is not the case. The government believes that 125 students board at this school and provides a monthly stipend of 25 rmb (US$3.12) per student per month. Because of the over-counting of boarding students, the school has some extra money to use to purchase food. As a result, students have a little meat and vegetables with their lunch and dinner each day. For breakfast, the schools provides them with tea and the students bring their own tsampa to eat. The school has no running water. There are no toilets in the dormitories and no showers at all. The school would like a greenhouse but it doesn't have enough land.

In this poor township, no primary schools have charged any fees for a number of years. Many village schools (6 in total) are closing in the near future, which means that the number of students at the central primary school will increase substantially.

The hygiene situation here far from ideal. There are no showers at all in the town, so the students basically never shower apart from the boys who jump in the river in summer. The students don't shower at home either. There are no medical check-ups for the students here, but they do get taken to the doctor if they are ill.

All classes here are now taught exclusively in Tibetan with the exception of Chinese class. Now, students can take the entrance exams for Junior and Senior Middle School in Tibetan, too.

According to the headmaster, the main reasons the students don't attend school in this area are as follows:

1. Parents are worried about their children - their safety and what happens if they get sick. Parents also worry that the food at the school is not as good as the food at home. Actually, the food at school is better than at home as students eat both meat and vegetables every day, says the headmaster. At home, they would only eat these occasionally.
2. Parents want their children to assist with household chores. Until the child is about 12 , the parents are generally willing for them to attend school. However, once they turn 12, they are big enough and old enough to help the family. The student population at this school is largest in grades 1 and 2. Only 20% of a typical entering class reaches grade 6; the rest of the children drop out before reaching this level. The greatest number of drop-outs occurs between grades 4 and 5.
3. Parents believe it is sufficient if their children can read reasonably well and do basic mathematics. This is another reason why many children drop out after Grade 4. It is interesting to note that many students themselves are very motivated and passionate about study. The headmaster spoke of a 6th grade girl who refused to eat for several days when her parents would not allow her to return to school. They finally relented.
4. Parents don't see the value of continuing their children's education. If the children only attend primary school, they can still help at home and learn how to grow food and care for animals - essential survival skills on the Tibetan plateau or in any rural area.
5. Very few graduates of Junior Middle School (grades 7-9) and Senior Middle School (grades 10-12) can get jobs in this small town, or even in the cities of Kangding and Chengdu. In towns in Kham, there are basically no jobs for graduates of these higher grades. If you want a government job or to be a teacher, you need a college certificate. Restaurants don't require very many workers or use those with special training. In Chengdu, it is even more difficult to find a job if you are from Kham as people there are prejudiced against people from the countryside. In the local township, the only real jobs are for teachers, government workers, or servers/salespersons in restaurants and small shops. Tourism is just beginning, so there is a small need for guides; however, the tourist season is quite short (mainly around the May 1 holiday), so the number of visitors is small. Guides also need special qualifications.

Kham Aid's comments

This headmaster's words show that lack of money to pay tuition is not an obstacle to education in his township. What's needed there are:

1. assurances to parents that their children will be well fed and cared for
2. schools that are closer to home so parents can see their children often
3. assurances to parents that education will lead to good-paying jobs
4. better paying jobs for adults so that families can flourish without depending on child labor

Kham Aid Foundation website: www.khamaid.org

556 S. Fair Oaks Ave, #309, Pasadena, CA 91105
Tel 626-449-7505
Fax 626-628-3109

to subscribe to our mailing list, send a blank email to subscribe@khamaid.org
to unsubscribe, send a blank email to unsubscribe@khamaid.org