Regarding the issue of examination-oriented education prevailing
in China's primary and middle schools, some Standing Committee
members of the National People's Congress (NPC)?have
suggested that articles should be added to the revised draft law on
compulsory education to clarify that schools and teachers should
never publish students' examination scores and their rankings.
At a Standing Committee meeting of the 10th NPC on February 27, He
Keng, former deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics
(
NBS), said
that, in the US, students' examination scores are considered
private, but in China, schools not only publish the results, but
also issue student rankings. "This is wrong for it greatly wounds
the hearts of children," he said.
Wang Tao, a professor from China Agricultural University, said
that an imbalance in the distribution of educational resources is
the prime breeding ground for examination-oriented education.
"Even if compulsory education stipulates that children must all
go to the nearest schools, many parents still try to choose a
better or key school in the hope that this will give their children
a brighter future," Wang said. "For parents, a good primary school
promises access to a better middle school, and a key middle school
promises admission to a key university."
Wang added that if the practice was not stopped, it would be
impossible to achieve the smooth development of quality-oriented
education.
These NPC Standing Committee members are also paying close
attention to the fact that the current exam-oriented approach is
leading to the phenomenon of students being worn out both
physically and mentally.
Pang Lijuan, a professor from
Beijing Normal University,
said that school classes commonly start too early in the day for
middle and even primary schools, with many beginning teaching
before 7:00 AM or shortly thereafter. "Children have to get up
before 6:00 AM or even 5:30 AM in some cases,"?she said. "Some
students cannot go to bed until 11:00 in the evening because they
need to finish piles of homework."
Insufficient sleep has severely influenced children's bodies and
minds,?she added. "This will affect their comprehensive
development and retard the implementation of quality-oriented
education."
Pang suggested the revised draft law stipulate that "Middle and
primary schools must not start classes before 8:00 AM."
Zhuang Gonghui, former vice chairperson of Tianjin Municipal
People's Congress, said that "Quality-oriented education needs to
be publicized more vigorously to counter the trend of recent years
toward greater emphasis on examination-oriented education."
The Ministry of Education has continuously stressed the need to
relieve the homework burden and create conditions for students to
receive a comprehensive education, but the homework load remains
far too great, Zhuang said, adding that "This phenomenon has made
us think more deeply."
Zhuang said that the phenomenon is due to historical, cultural
and traditional concepts as well as the prevailing idea of China's
need for more "qualified personnel." "It is incumbent upon
educational executive departments and schools to put
quality-oriented education into practice, but this cannot be
realized unless a good environment is created in the whole
society," Zhuang said.
Zhuang also suggested the revised draft law should contain
specific stipulations on the point.
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, March 6, 2006)
