The Second Lu Xun Literature Prize Winning Works Series--Report Literature

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Features: The Lu Xun Literature Prize is a national, high-level literary award, and in the eyes of Chinese writers, its status is comparable to the Nobel Prize. The winning works of the second Lu Xun Literature Prize National Excellent Report Literature Award include: "Tears Are Gold" by He Jianming, "The Korean War in Northeast Asia" by Wang Shuzeng, "Voices from the West" by Mei Jie, "China's 863 Program" by Li Mingsheng, and "Life and Death at the Edge" by Yang Ligang.
Excerpt: The long-term stagnation of family education funding at 12% can only maintain the "personnel costs" of educational institutions, and all other initiatives are like "a clever woman can't cook without rice." In the 1980s and early 1990s, the education sector explored and implemented systems such as commissioned training, (commissioned training), and self-funded education to alleviate the shortage of educational funding. The results were either the issue of "scoring money to make up for the lack of points" or some universities refusing to adopt such systems as "commissioned students" to uphold teaching quality, coupled with the many problems in the allocation of commissioned students. In 1994, after extensive investigation and deliberation, the state decided to transition from pilot programs to a fully implemented tuition-based higher education system for all universities. Why? It is clear: the country cannot bear the heavy burden forever. In developed Western countries, public schools account for only 20-30% of the total, yet in our developing poor country, 100% of higher education is funded by the state. Regardless of how much a university requires annually, just one student averages 10,000 yuan per year, and 500 million students amount to 50 billion! It must be pointed out that as the state increasingly struggles under this financial burden, on the other hand, the household savings of residents across the country are growing at a rate of 30% annually, reaching a total of 500 billion yuan by the end of 1997! While personal finances are expanding, they are unwilling to spend a penny for their children's higher education, and it is almost impossible for such a country not to be dragged down.
Take a look at this phenomenon: In July 1997, a hotel owner in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, advertised in a local newspaper to hire a full-time private tutor for his daughter. He promised a reward of 30,000 yuan for the tutor if the student's annual grades ranked in the top 5 of the class, and 8,000 yuan if they ranked in the top 10. If the student eventually enters university, they would receive an additional one-time reward of 150,000 yuan. The tutor's regular salary: free meals and accommodation, a bedroom equipped with air conditioning, a computer, and a TV, with a monthly wage of over 1,200 yuan. It is almost a common phenomenon in society to spend heavily on private tutors and elite middle schools for children's higher education. Just look at the intense competition of the "middle school entrance exam" and the sacrifices parents make to enroll their children in top schools at any cost. Who can say that there are not a few who do it solely for their children's higher education? Since middle school fees are willing or fully capable of bearing thousands or tens of thousands of high costs, shouldn't university fees be a natural matter?
Out of consideration for the overall situation and the realities of the nation, the government and education sector ultimately made the major decision that future higher education would require tuition fees. This was a shock to the Chinese people. In fact, it had come too late. It was necessary to ring the bell out of desperation, and it took until now to ring it for the same reason—there are still hundreds of millions of families in China living at a low economic level and unable to sustain themselves. As a result, the state still bears about 80% of each student's total educational costs.
The People's Republic of China thinks of the people. The state also considers the special circumstances of professional colleges in certain industries and stipulates that students in agricultural, normal, geological, petroleum, sports, navigation, and ethnic studies who receive national professional scholarships are exempt from tuition fees. According to measurements by the education sector and relevant social research institutions, after the implementation of tuition fees, the annual expenses for each university student range between 6,000 and 10,000 yuan, a figure that most families can afford.
The education sector believes that, according to market economy theory, the returns a university graduate will receive over their lifetime will be substantial, making the investment of 20,000-30,000 yuan during their university years seem insignificant. The state's accounts are clear and favorable, with no room for objection. However, university fees remain a shock to countless families. The reason for such a huge impact comes from two factors: traditional habits and the actual difficulty of affording it. The former is a matter of (conceptual renewal), which can be addressed through persuasion and education. The latter, however, is a chasm that cannot be crossed in a day, and who will fill it?
According to data, more than 60% of university students come from rural and remote areas. Similarly, another study shows that the average annual income per capita in rural areas is around 1,200 yuan. These two pieces of data highlight a problem: in rural areas, if a family has a university student, their entire annual income is essentially dedicated to that student. If this assumption holds true, then at least half of the families of university students from rural areas will face financial difficulties as a result.
Note: Here, we are not referring to families living below the poverty line. Another issue that cannot be ignored is the large number of laid-off workers in urban areas in recent years...