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| Ding Zuyi: Pioneering Private Education in China |
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A spot of rain at the end of May cooled things down a little in Shanghai, a city that has soldiered on unfazed by Typhoon Chanchu that hit its shores earlier in the month. Sitting comfortably in his Shanghai hotel room, Ding Zuyi, president of Xi'an Fanyi University, recounted the countless hardships of the last 20 years while running a private school in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province: "I am no stranger to adversity. Sometimes misfortune toughens a man's will better than anything else."
Ding, also vice president of the Translators Association of China (TAC), was in Shanghai to attend the China International Forum on Translation Industry that was held from May 28 to 29 at Tongji University. "Those who fail the college entrance examination are like water boiled to 70 or 80 degrees," he said in an exclusive interview with china.org.cn. "If we put in more firewood to help them continue their education at private schools, they, too, can become talented people. This is actually another 'Project HOPE'." An academically gifted student, Ding graduated from the No.11 Middle School in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, and in 1957 was admitted to Tsinghua University. However, a routine investigation, which was common practice during those absurd years, showed that he was "politically unqualified" to be admitted to Tsinghua because of his family background. He was eventually denied admission. Standing on the bank of the Qinhuai River that runs through downtown Nanjing, a distressed Ding swore to himself: "Today, I am not allowed to go to college, but sooner or later, I'll mount the rostrum of a university to deliver lectures!" His pledge became a reality in 1983 when he was engaged by Xi'an Petroleum Institute as a teacher. Four years later Ding, already 48 at the time, decided to take a bold step. He established Xi'an Fanyi University. In order to do so, he resigned from the institute and divorced his wife who opposed the idea. "Perhaps because of similar personal experiences, I cannot help but think about the fate of students who are refused by state-run colleges and universities. So, I'm determined to offer them a second chance to become useful members of society," he said. Since the founding of the Chinese Community University in Beijing in 1982, private schools have mushroomed in China. To date there are more than 1,300 privately run colleges and universities, most of which are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and the southeastern coastal region. Student numbers have reportedly hit 4 million. However, unlike foreign private schools that get financial support from both their governments and private enterprises or individuals, those in China find themselves struggling financially, Ding said. He cited the example of private schools in the past having to rent classrooms for night classes. Tired of having to squat in someone else's premises, Ding seized the opportunity to purchase a factory compound in 1993. Ding paid more than 6 million yuan (US$750,000) for the property, but Xi'an Fanyi University had its own campus. Over the last 20 years, Ding has neither asked for a loan from the state nor received any private investments. Having started from scratch, his school now occupies over 2,000 mu (about 133 hectares), with 700,000 square meters of building space and 1 billion yuan (US$125 million) worth of fixed assets. The school enrolls more than 10,000 new students each year, and graduate employment rate has maintained a 98 percent average the last 18 years. "What is taken from the students is to be used in the interests of the students," Ding said. "I never intended to make money from running a school; instead, I do it as a public service," he added. However, some seven years ago his school almost came to a premature end when the industrial and commercial authorities required him to pay business taxes. "I'm not doing business. What I'm doing is a public welfare undertaking," Ding argued strongly, and flatly rejected their request. As a result, his bank account was frozen. Thanks to the mediation of the provincial department of education, the dispute was settled. But tensions were still high and it wasn't until 2003 that Ding was able to heave a huge sigh of relief. It was then that the central government promulgated the Private Education Law aimed at promoting private sector education. "The law stipulates in explicit terms that private schools are to enjoy the same preferential tax policy as state-owned schools," Ding said.
Not one to be fettered by convention, Ding went about creating a new teaching method. Every academic year, Ding selects a number of freshmen for his course founded on the principle of voluntary participation. The course takes the form of a military regime for the duration of the undergraduates' studies at the school. "Receiving training through total immersion, even in daily life, they are not allowed to speak any other language than English," Ding said. "To create an ideal language environment, we've hired guards who can speak English. The cooks in the dining hall don't speak English; so during meal times they are required to keep silent, communicating through gestures with cooking utensils. "In this way, within a couple of years, these students will become perfect simultaneous interpreters," he added. Graduates of Xi'an Fanyi University have finished first in provincial and national oral English contests in recent years, testimony to the effectiveness of Ding's methods. In addition to being a credible alternative to state-run academic institutions, Ding also asserts that the private higher education sector has great economic potential. Citing his school as an example, Ding said: "College education costs the state an estimated 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) per student per year. To date, 32,000 graduates have left our gates, and we still have some 38,000 undergraduates studying at our school. They didn't or will not spend a penny of state funds for their four-year studies. That means we've saved the country about 2.8 billion yuan (US$350 million)." Xi'an Fanyi University's annual revenue of 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million) has given great impetus to the development of the local economy, Ding said. A growing number of private institutes also creates a huge college admission market and employment market, and promotes the publishing and advertising industries. But Ding lamented that even today private schools are still victims to discriminating policies. "For instance, our students don't enjoy preferential fares for public transport given to students from state-run schools, and we aren't given access to grant-in-aid loans for impoverished students. "Yet, despite these difficulties, education provided by the community is a growing trend, and the tide cannot be restrained." (China.org.cn by staff reporter Shao Da, June 20, 2006) |
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