Rural kids' education

Although the number of boarding schools in rural areas has increased, the closure of 229,400 rural primary schools and more than 16,000 middle schools between 2000 and 2010 means that, on average, primary school students in rural areas have to travel more than 5 kilometers and middle school students more than 17 km to attend classes, according to a report released by the 21st Century Education Research Institute on Saturday.

The undesirable conditions, both soft and hard, in most boarding schools have increased the cost of education for rural students, and there has been an increase in the number of children dropping out of school, especially in mountainous areas where transport is not convenient.

Fortunately, the plight of rural schoolchildren has already attracted the attention of the central authorities, and the Ministry of Education issued documents in September suspending the random closing of rural primary and middle schools.