Anger grows in China over school crowding
Local governments are struggling to cope with rapid urbanisation and their perilous finances
“STUDENTS should be encouraged to treasure their time in school and concentrate on seeking knowledge in an undistracted manner,” said Xi Jinping, China’s leader, on September 10th. His speech, at an education conference in Beijing marking Teachers’ Day, coincided with the end of the long summer holiday and a return to school for a quarter of a billion young Chinese. Across China, cooling temperatures have been matched by the sight of yellow school buses and crowds of backpack-toting children adding extra noise and bustle to each day’s commuter rush. Alas, once they get to school, many of them face serious distractions.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Class struggle”
From the September 15th 2018 edition
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