Hou Zixin, deputy to the 10th National People's Congress and
president of the highly respected Nankai University, located in
Tianjin, has said that he felt very satisfied with the huge capital
injection in education provided in the last five years by this
government; a fact that was clarified in Premier Zhu Rongji's
Report on the Work of the Government delivered at the NPC meeting
on March 5.
In
an exclusive interview with China.org.cn, Hou said how he clearly
remembers Premier Zhu's promise that the government would develop
China through a "science and education" strategy, at the inaugural
ceremony five years ago.
"He has kept his promise," Hou said, "The capital appropriated for
education has increased by 1 percent in central budget each year -
the accumulative amount exceeding 40 billion yuan in five
years."
Taking Nankai University for example, Hou pointed out that, "Funds
that the university received from the government in 2002 had
reached 700 million yuan, twice that of 1997." He was quick to
point out that these funding figures did not contain the outlay for
construction costs for campus improvement.
He
praised very highly the State Council's decision to enlarge
enrollment for higher education in 1999, saying that was a very
significant thing for education at that time. "It met a growing
need for people to realize that higher education would improve the
quality of everyone's life," he said.
Nankai University was a member of both the
211 Project, according which government supports 100
universities in the 21st century, and the 985 Project that aims to
develop a number of first-class universities in the world. Thus it
was given special financial support from the Ministry of Education
and local government to attract international acclaim. Hou said
that the university would adjust its curriculums arrangement,
enhance its facilities and improve the abilities of its students to
suit the development of a changing economic and social situation in
China.
On
Thursday morning, Hou, along with 2,900 other deputies, heard the
budget report given by the financial minister, Xiang Huaicheng, and
the planning report given by Zeng Peiyan, director of the State
Development Planning Commission.
"Although fiscal spending seems tight this year, spending in
education as well as in agriculture and social security continues
to rise," Hou commented. He is confident about the future of
China's education and says, "The strategy of developing China
through science and education obviously remains unchanged."
(China.org.cn by Staff Reporter Tang Fuchun, March 9, 2003)
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