From Reuters:
It’s children like 10-year-old Xiao Wei, one of dozens of kids tearing around a dusty village schoolyard, who are being left behind by China’s economic boom as hidden costs, long distances to secondary schools and family needs mean a yawning gap in education opportunities for rural and urban children.
After years of focus on urban schools and higher education, basic schooling in rural areas has finally become a priority for a government trying to address a rural-urban wealth gap in China that is contributing to social unrest.
China’s annual parliament session, which opens on March 5, is expected to pledge more funding for rural schools as the leadership under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao attempts to correct disparities between booming cities and the impoverished hinterland. [Full Text]
