Believe or not, teenagers in Shanghai for the first time found their voice heard in a law issued Thursday, which is also a vanguard for the current 7,500 China's local laws and regulations.
Shanghai Protection Regulation for Minors stipulates that nine-year compulsory education, schools are forbidden to announce class rank by the results of the exams, which is exactly the first one according to teenagers' advice.
According to Chinese legislation practice, adults can give their opinion on a potential law. Because new law affects teenagers, the Shanghai legislative body invited them take part.
"Our best choice is to hear what these children want when setting a protection regulation for them, instead of taking their place and doing everything for them just like nannies do," said Shen Guoming, an official in the municipal legislation committee.
Twenty one teenagers were invited to express their ideas on the regulation in October. All legislators there had to admit that they neglected the problem raised by these students: the hurt to primary and middle school students caused by opening the ranking list of exams.
Chinese students always have to compete with each other for better education opportunities due to the country's insufficient education resources, and only those who are at the top of the ranking list have further education opportunities.
Established as a kind of stimulation, almost all Chinese primary and middle schools tend to publicize the class ranks of students after every exam, which has brought huge psychological pressure to the teenagers.
Gao Jianling, a grade three student of the middle school affiliated to east China normal University, said schools have the right of ranking students, but there is no need to publicize them, for it will make those at the end of the list feel shameful and unconfident.
Gao and his peers were happy to know that their advice adopted in the second draft of the protection regulation, but the unhappy parents and teachers were strongly against it.
Gu Huiliang, headmaster of central primary school of Shanghai Jing'an District said that for a student, pressure is also the partner of stimulus, which will urge them to study hard and get better scores next time.
An on-line survey made by Xinhuanet showed that the ratio of ranking system supporters to opposers is 8 to 2, and a random poll held by the Shanghai-based Xinming Evening News reflected that majority of the surveyed are supporting the current ranking system.
The hot arguments finally settled down today, with the article forbidding opening ranking names appeared in the final version of the protection regulation.
Zhang Weihao, a parent said, "approval of the article is the result of a equal dialogue between adults and teenagers."
China has the largest population of minors, with 367 million youngster below the age of 18.
"Encouraging minors to freely express their views on regulation closely related to them will produce active influence on regulations practice," said Wu Zuolong, a Ph.D. of legal studies in Fudan University, adding that Shanghai's trial in legislation process may set an example for other Chinese regions.
(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2004)
