Those economically poor and academically excellent college students will get some relief from their economic burdens because of the central government’s decision to begin granting a national scholarship this year.
It is a time of joy for some and sadness for others after the so-called “Black July” every year when high school students take the college entrance examination. For those from poor families, a college enrollment notice is by no means good news. Some had to give up the opportunity to receive a college education simply because their families couldn’t afford the tuition fees. Colleges and universities all have different scholarships that will help the students, but they still have to pay tuition. The grant of a national scholarship is hailed as a timely project both by needy students and school administrators alike.
With limited time and resources, many college students are not able to support themselves. Several years ago, the country began to grant loans for college students, but they had to repay the money after graduation. Now, a national scholarship grant offers an incentive for students to work harder. And other social elements are also being incorporated into supporting education.
Two special guests came to the Students’ Department of Beijing Normal University on September 2nd. Chen Haobo and his mother from a village in Beijing came to inquire about the tuition fee that arrived with the enrollment notice. Li Xuelian, Deputy Director of Students’ Dept., Beijing Normal University, received them. He said that the annual tuition for an International Trade and Economics major is 5,000 yuan, and the lodging is 650 yuan. The school sets up 12 kinds of scholarship. The national scholarship is designed for economically poor but academically excellent students. You may apply for it with your College Entrance Examination records. We will approve an application according to a student’s situation and you are supposed to write a personal statement.
Chen Haobo was enrolled with the highest score in his village by the international economics and trade school of Beijing Normal University. But his family of four totally depends on his father’s meager income. Chen was in hopes that he could get the newly established national scholarship to be able to afford his tuition. Chen said that the school has over ten kinds of scholarship and student grants, and there is the new national scholarship. It is not only an encouragement; it is also in inspiration for me to study harder. I think I will try my best to get the national scholarship. It is the best honor for me.
According to preliminary statistics from the Education Ministry, prior to 2001, there were 7.2 million college students in China. Economically needy students like Chen Haobo accounted for 20 percent of the total. To help these students complete their college education, the Chinese government began to grant a national scholarship starting in the Fall. Li Xuelian said, “ The country set up a national scholarship this year. This is a timely project. It offers a way out for those economically poor but academically excellent students: they may acquire a national subsidy through their hard work.”
The national scholarship is divided into two levels. 10,000 students may get the first-class scholarship of 6,000 yuan per year; and 35,000 students the second-class one of 4,000 yuan per year. It is also stipulated that national scholarship winners will be exempt from tuition that year. Freshmen like Chen Haobo have an opportunity to get the scholarship. Wu Zhigong, Vice President of Beijing Normal University, said, “For the freshmen, they may feel the difficulty in many ways: economic burden, psychological adjustment and knowledge acquisition. For the sophomores, juniors and seniors, they may have economic burdens, but they gradually get more independent. So our focus is on freshmen. The money should be used where it is needed most.”
Applications for the national scholarship are approved on an annual basis. The process starts in October and is completed at the end of the year.
Chen Lei is a senior student of electro-mechanics of Tsinghua University. He was the number-one enrollee in the college entrance examination in Hubei Province. He was nicknamed “professional prize winner” by his fellow students. He would get all kinds of scholarships every year at school and was very interested when he heard the news about a national scholarship. Chen said, “I will spend 200 or 300 yuan each month, and it is fairly enough. But I’d take it into consideration when I heard about the national scholarship. It will be a great help for me if I can get another sum of scholarship money. With that sum, I can do what I wanted to, say, I might buy a computer and more books that I need.”
Applicants for the national scholarship must have economic difficulty and be academically excellent. They also have to undergo rigorous evaluation by appropriate departments. Nie Fenghua, deputy director of Students’ Dept., Tsinghua University, said, “There are four steps to approve national scholarship winners. We first set a quota for each department; the second step involves students’ applications; the third is to make a preliminary appraisal of the applicants; the fourth step is for the school to make the final decision on the final winners according to the preliminary appraisal. The applicants may also give an oral presentation.”
The grant of a national scholarship is sure to relieve students from economic burdens. It is an encouragement for them to study harder and is welcomed by school administrators. Zhang Jianming, Vice President of Renmin University said,
It is something significant for China to set up a national scholarship. Students are encouraged to work harder. It is good for the school to solve students’ economic difficulties and for other social elements to support college students.
The grant of a national scholarship targeting economically poor and academically excellent students is very popular with many students. Qiu Peng, Student of Renmin University, said, “As a college student, we have to strive for ourselves if our family is unable to afford a good material environment. But time is limited and we don't have much access to other sources. So we hope that the country, the society and the school would give us some help. There is no doubt that the national scholarship is great material aid. There are more important aspects. One is that it gives us inspiration; there are a lot of people behind us and we have to work hard. The other is that I think the grant of national scholarship is a conveyance of love, telling us that the world is still full of love. I have a dream that one day when I succeed with my enterprise, I will set up scholarships and student subsidies in many schools.”
Administration Rules on National Scholarship went into effect on September 1st in 2002.
1. 45,000 students will benefit from the national scholarship each year. Since 1994, the central finance department has granted 1.142 billion yuan worth of subsidies to poor students.
2. The national scholarship is divided into two parts. The first-class one is 6,000 yuan each year per person, and the second-class one is 4,000 yuan. National scholarship winners will be exempt from all the tuition fees that year.
Editor: Wang Yin
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