给予职业学校学生更多帮助

China will beef up its support for secondary vocational education by offering more students free schooling and by improving the grant aid system.

According to the State Council, China's Cabinet, urban students majoring in agricultural-related subjects or having financial difficulties and all rural students will be exempt from tuition fees at secondary vocational schools starting in the fall semester of 2012.

Currently, only agricultural-related majors and financially-challenged students can enjoy tuition exemptions.

Ma Jianbin, department head of the Ministry of Education, says the new policy will benefit more vocational students.

"With the new tuition-free policy by the nation, more than 90 percent of vocational students nationwide will benefit from it, with an increase of 60 percent based on the previous tuition-free policy."

Since 2009, China has given 4.74 billion yuan, or about 747 million US dollars, to secondary vocational schools as compensation for tuition exemptions. However, less than 30 percent of vocational students, about 4 million students, have benefited from the move.

Experts say the tuition-free policy means more students receive one more level of education after graduating, regardless of their family financial situation.

Meng Jinliu is a vocational school student in Yunnan Province. The tuition-free policy will save her 2,500 yuan a year.

"My family's financial situation is not that good. And my father is disabled. Now, what I save on the tuition relieves the financial burden on my family."

According to the headmaster of the vocational school, Cun Dehong, prior to the tuition-free policy, low income family situations make it hard for the school to get students.

"Based on our statistics, we enrolled 500 students in 2006. In 2007, we started to carry out student grants, and we recruited more than 1,000 students."

Many students in rural areas say they are more interested in employment more than a degree. Liu Xiao is a vocational student in Yunnan Province.

"If I study at a vocational school, I can start working earlier than those who choose higher learning. That will relieve the burden on my family."

According to the latest statistics by the Ministry of Education, more than 68 million vocational school students nationwide benefited from student grants and the tuition-free policy from 2007 to 2011, and the total amount of financial aid for these students is as high as 100 billion yuan.

It not only gives more opportunity for students to realize their dreams, but it also provides more qualified technical workers that the country needs.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.