Legislators welcome equality in higher education

A university president believes the new government work report will give rural students from poor areas more opportunities to enroll in key universities.

Zhou Xuhong, president of Chongqing University, said the school has made an effort to enroll more rural students from poor areas.

"I discussed with the Chongqing Education Commission two weeks ago enrolling more rural students from Chongqing this year," said Zhou, also a deputy of the National People's Congress. The university set aside 80 positions for students from poor rural areas in an effort to boost social mobility.

Zhou believes that the Ministry of Education will take action to reach education equality in higher education now that the target has been written into the premier's work report.

About one-fourth of Chongqing University's students are natives of the municipality, and more than 30 percent of those are rural students from poor areas.

The university has more than 50,000 students, nearly 20,000 of whom are master's or doctoral students.

Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening of the second session of the NPC on March 5 that the number of students from poor rural areas enrolled in key colleges and universities increased by 8.5 percent over 2013.

He also set the target for 2014, saying that the number of rural students from poor areas enrolled in key colleges and universities will again increase by more than 10 percent, and this will give rural children more opportunity to receive a higher education.

Tan Xiwei, another NPC deputy, agreed with Zhou that the government will make education equality a priority.

"It is important to increase the number of rural students from poor areas enroll in key universities. It is more crucial to help them to adapt to college lives and find jobs after graduation," he said.