M. A. GULEVA

Post-graduate student at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Keywords: China, education, gender inequality, national minorities

Education is one of the most important components of the development of modern society. This is not only the training of qualified personnel, but also the basis for the development of a powerful, harmonious and stable society. Therefore, all segments of the population should have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and apply it for the benefit of the family and society, regardless of their gender, ethnic or other characteristics.

Despite the significant achievements made in the course of reforms over the past two decades, the problem of inequality in access to education remains relevant.

By the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country's population was more than 80% illiterate, and the percentage of primary and secondary school students was 20% and 6%, respectively.

China has made a huge leap forward in the development of education. According to official data, the number of illiterate people over the age of 15 has been reduced to 7.8%, while primary and secondary education enrollment rates are currently 99.5% and 95%, respectively ^.1

However, the issue of equal rights of girls and girls with the male population and their access to education has not yet been fully resolved-

Table 1

Share of girls and girls in the total number of students (in %)

Source: Wo guo niuxin yanjusheng jiaoyu de chengju yu fazhan (Progress and development of women's postgraduate education). Publication of the Academy of Social Sciences of the People's Republic of China, prov. Jilin, 07.2009, p. 212.

shen. The situation in this area is even more complicated with national minorities.

THE GIRLS ARE COMING

In recent years, the share of girls in the total number of students at various levels of education has increased and averages about 50%. The difference in access to education between boys and girls decreased from 0.7% in 1995 ^{to 0.04% in 2008.2}

The total number of women in all levels of education has increased significantly. For example, out of the total number of primary and higher secondary school students, the percentage of girls reached 47.4% and 48.06% ³.

At first glance, the problem of equality between girls and boys is solved. However, if we consider each stage of education separately, it is still difficult to talk about it.

For example, the number of female students in primary and secondary schools remains at 47%, not counting the sharp increase in 2005. The same situation has developed with the higher secondary school.

Over the past 4 years, the share of girls who receive preschool education has also decreased. This can be directly attributed to the lack of state funding for this level of education. Most kindergartens in China are paid, which means that not all parents can afford to send their children there.

Changes are possible only if the Chinese authorities finally approve the decision to include preschool institutions in the compulsory education system. This may not happen until 2012 at the earliest.

The low proportion of girls in kindergartens reflects a traditional Chinese phenomenon. Female illiteracy has always been a widespread phenomenon in China. In rural areas, especially in poor families, girls were assigned household and household responsibilities, and therefore they were more likely to choose not to be sent to school, while their sons were more likely to be educated by their parents. The boys, as the future breadwinners of the family, had high hopes, which could only be fulfilled by receiving an education, which from time immemorial was considered the only way to escape from poverty.

As the educational level in the world as a whole increases, it is becoming increasingly clear that women who have received a high-quality education have every chance of success not only in career growth, but also in other socio-economic areas of society. The most important thing is that only a woman who has a high level of education will be able to bring up literate, harmoniously developed individuals who will be able to serve for the benefit of their country in the future. In China, this understanding did not come immediately, and still in remote rural regions, girls do not always have the opportunity to study.

The Government is actively encouraging businesses, private institutions and companies to help young girls from poor families get an education. For example, under the Spring Bud program, which was launched back in 1989, more than 800 million rubles were allocated. * Over 800 schools have been built for charity projects to help girls from poor families, and funds are being allocated to help secondary and higher education students.

Despite the decline in female illiteracy from 14% in the previous year,

Table 2

Percentage of girls who received an academic degree (%)

Source: Wo guo niuxin yanjusheng jiaoyu de chengju yu fazhan (Progress and development of women's postgraduate education). Decree. soch., p. 214.

* $1 is now equal to 6.66 yuan (ed. note).

From the mid-1990s to 11% in 2008, it is clear that this figure is still high. In rural areas, it even exceeds 11%, and the total number of years of study still does not reach the national figure of 8.5 years and was 7 years in 2007. Of the 116 million illiterate and semi-illiterate people in China, 67% are still women.⁴

At the same time, significant progress has been made in the field of higher education.

More than 6 million students study in higher education institutions in China. female students. The proportion of female students increased from 45.65% in 2004 to 49.12% in 2007.

Over the years of reforms, the number of girls and women who have received an academic degree has also increased rapidly. If in the early 1980s about 15% of graduates had a master's degree and less than 5% had a doctorate, then in 2008 this figure reached 48% and 36%, respectively.

Women and girls also face difficulties in finding employment opportunities. When applying for a job, employers give preference to representatives of the stronger sex, and if a girl is hired, then her position and, accordingly, her salary will in any case be lower than that of her male colleagues. ⁵ So, for example, in Tianjin (one of the cities of the central subordination), the salary of girls who have recently graduated from university is on average 2-3 thousand yuan, while young people receive at least 5-7 thousand yuan.

In view of these facts, it is too early to say that the problem of inequality between women and men in China has been completely solved. Obviously, this will take many more years.

THE NON-HAN ARE HAVING A HARD TIME

The problem of inequality in access to educational services at the international level remains very acute.

People of 56 different nationalities live in the country, but the predominant indigenous nation is the Han Chinese, accounting for about 92% of the total population. The rest belong to national minorities. Their total number is more than 106 million people*.

The main difficulty in studying this issue is the lack of detailed statistical data. The Chinese authorities prefer not to talk about the real situation in the education system in areas where ethnic minorities live.

However, if we try to draw conclusions from the materials that are still available, we can definitely say that the level of illiteracy among non-Han nationalities is several times higher than the indigenous population of the PRC. According to some sources, the literacy rate in Inner Mongolia is 80%, while Qinghai has more than 24% of the illiterate population, Uighurs have 22%, and Tibet has 45% of the illiterate population (the" record holder " is the Dongxiang people, 80% of whom still have no education)^.6

Most often, extreme poverty and, as a result, the inability to send children to school is the main obstacle to education for national minorities in China. Han boys are twice as likely to progress from one level of education to the next than their non-Han counterparts.

There are even cases when applicants deliberately hide their nationality in order to be able to enroll in a higher educational institution. In the summer of 2009, a scandal broke out at Peking University when it turned out that an applicant who showed one of the best results in the entrance exam, entered the nationality "Han" in the documents so as not to face difficulties in admission. Later it turned out that there were more than 30 such applicants. It is not known whether they were eventually enrolled, but in a similar case in 2007, three applicants who were caught falsifying their documents were not admitted to the university.⁷

An even sadder picture appears when we talk about women of national minorities in the PRC. According to data provided by an English study, 39% of non-Han women are illiterate.

However, the number of Han girls and girls from national minorities who graduated from primary school was almost equal (41%). But this rate is falling rapidly with each step, and only 5% of non-Han girls receive a 12-year education.⁸

Thus, in the areas where national minorities live, there are still difficult problems in the development of education. And this is a significant part of the territory of the PRC: the Tibetan, Guangxi-Zhuang, Qing-Hai, Ningxia-Hui and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Hunan, Jilin. Education is not accessible to everyone, the share of dropouts is high, the level of teachers and the quality of teaching leave much to be desired. All these and many other problems are related to the acute lack of funding for education, which is an order of magnitude different from funding for the prosperous eastern provinces of China.

In addition, it is worth remembering the problem of language separation. For example, 70% of Uighurs do not speak the national Chinese language Putonghua. As a consequence, they can't

* For more information, see: Lazareva T. V. Zigzags of China's National Policy / / Asia and Africa Today, 2010, N 3-4.

Figure 1. State allocations for education by province in 2007 (billion yuan).

Source: Zhang Tianlu, Huang Rongqing. Chian's Minority Populations: Surveys and Research, 2005 - http://kuching2.mofcom.gov.cn/article/aboutchina/nationality/200411/20041100001901.html

studying in ordinary schools, where classes are conducted in this language, often can not get to work for the same reason. A similar problem applies to all persons of non-Han nationality.

However, there is also a problem of the opposite nature: in order to learn Putpunghua, young people forget the language of their nationality. In order to avoid this situation, additional "injections" of funds into the construction of specialized schools are needed. But not all Chinese officials see this as an urgent need, considering that the disappearance of one or more languages of small nationalities is a natural process.

The amount of State appropriations allocated to the regions where national minorities live is significantly lower than the amount allocated by the Government to the developed provinces of the country.

Local governments are not able to cope alone with the burden of problems that have accumulated over the years in the field of education. It is obvious that the effective development of these regions requires more active support from the central government.

In 2007, a number of decisions were made to increase assistance to the country's lagging regions. For example, since 2007, the central budget has allocated 130 million yuan annually to help students in need from Xinjiang, and in 2008, the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region allocated 18 billion yuan. RMB for the development of the educational sector in the region. This program has yielded positive results. There is a growing number of schools that teach two languages: Puthuisua and the language of national minorities. It is obvious that with the right policies and effective measures, it is possible to achieve considerable success in the education of the population of the western regions of China.

Similar programs are planned to be extended to other regions where national minorities live. This is one of the most important points in the developed program for the development of the Chinese educational system in 2010-2020.

* * *

Thus, China has made significant progress over the years of reform in ensuring access to education for women, although there are still challenges, especially in rural areas. The situation in this area is much more complicated in places where the indigenous population lives compactly. Ultimately, it comes down to a complex set of problems related to the solution of the national question in the PRC.

¹ Wo guo jiaoyu qude huihuang chengju: jiasu jianshe renli ziyuan qianguo (Brilliant achievements in the education system: accelerating the construction of a powerful state). 29.09.2009 - www.dfe.cn/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID-3106

² Shenzhu tuijin jiaoyu gongping (Promote equality in access to education). Beijing. Social and Scientific Literary Publishing House, 2008, p. 108.

³ Vo guo niuxin yanjusheng jiaoyu de chengju yu fazhan (Success and development of women's postgraduate education). Publication of the Academy of Social Sciences of the People's Republic of China, nrov. Jilin, 07.2009, p. 212.

⁴ Women Literacy Education in China. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007.

⁵ 56% niu daxuesheng renwei qiuzhi jihui shao: hen do bei bi kao ya (56% of female students believe that there are very few job search opportunities: there are too many obstacles). 15.11.2010 http://edu.people.com.cn/GB/13210087.html

^{Zhang Tianlu} 6, Huang Rongqing. China's Minority Populations: Surveys and Research. 2005.

⁷ Top Scorer May be Denied by University for Lying about the Ethnicitv // China View, 29.06.2009.

^{Hahkov Mette.} 8 Lessons in Being Chinese: Minority Education and Ethnic Identity in Southwest China. University of Washington Press, 2000, p. 15.

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