WUNRN
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-09/22/content_21947264.htm
China
- Gender Gap in Education Markedly Narrowed: White Paper
Xinhua
– Beijing – September 22, 2015 - The gender gap in education has been markedly
narrowed as China has implemented a special policy to ensure school-age girls
enjoy equal access to compulsory education, a white paper said.
The
white paper marking the 20th anniversary of the UN's Fourth World Conference on
Women that was held in Beijing, said in 2014, the net primary school enrolment
rates of boys and girls were both 99.8 percent, meaning that China has achieved
the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of time.
Women
now enjoy greater opportunities in junior high school education and above,
particularly further education, said the paper.
China
has set up special funds to reduce the number of illiterate women, it said,
adding women's average years of schooling have increased, and the gender gap
has narrowed.
The
Sixth National Census showed that the average years of schooling for women over
the age of six were 8.4 years in 2010, 1.3 years more than in 2000, and the
gender gap had narrowed by 0.2 year as compared with 2000.
The
paper also said more and more women have been receiving vocational education
and skill training, adding that China launched a project to train farmers in
new technology, a plan for cultivating highly skilled personnel, in addition to
a number of training programs for improving the vocational skills of migrant
workers, such as the Spring Tide Action and Sunshine Project, to meet the needs
of different groups of women for their vocational development.
Women
of ethnic minority groups, girls in remote poverty-stricken areas and other
female groups now enjoy equal access to educational resources, the paper said.
China
has been accelerating the construction of boarding schools in rural areas,
thereby improving the study and living conditions of rural girls, it said,
adding specific policies have been introduced to provide education for migrant
children where they move.
China
also attaches importance to special education, increasing disabled women's
access to educational resources of various types and at all levels; as a
result, disabled women have improved access to education, the paper said.
According
to the white paper, principles and concepts of gender equality are gradually
extending into teaching and scientific research. Gender equality has been
introduced to some teacher training programs and normal school courses, in
order to enhance teachers' awareness of gender equality, it said.
In
2014, the proportion of female teachers in institutions of higher learning was
48.1 percent, an increase of 18.1 percentage points over 1995, it said.
Women's studies continues to strengthen as a discipline in institutions of higher learning. Currently, more than 100 colleges and universities offer in excess of 440 courses on women's studies and gender equality, and the number of master's and doctoral programs on women's studies continues to grow, the paper said.