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Officials shouldn't pass odd remarks
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-18 07:50
Wang Dinghua, deputy director-general of the elementary education department, said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Education had stopped institutions from imposing education charges arbitrarily, but facts show a different story, says an article in Yangtze Evening Post. Excerpts:
Arbitrary charges in schools and colleges have been an age-old problem. Experts estimate that from 1994 to 2004, arbitrary education charges amounted to at least 200 billion yuan ($29.29 billion), adding to the burden of the people, especially the poor and the low-income group.
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But arbitrary charges are not necessarily related to government spending on education, and hence will continue to burden the people unless an effective supervision system is put in place.
Moreover, data show that the problem of arbitrary charges is far from over. Liu Jiayi, chief auditor of the National Audit Office, has said in his report that arbitrary education charges added up to 502 million yuan in 2006.
Besides, seven of the ministries and commissions, under the State Council (China's cabinet), launched a joint campaign against unauthorized educational charges earlier this year.
And several days ago, the National Development and Reform Commission restated the significance of cracking down on institutions that impose such charges.
So statistics and government policies both point to the fact that more efforts are needed to curb arbitrary education charges.
But Wang denies that such a problem exists, showing how ignorant some officials are about social reality. His reckless statement could do more damage if it prompts relative government departments to loosen their campaign against arbitrary charges.
(China Daily 11/18/2009 page9)
