Peking University in discrimination debate By Wang Zhuoqiong and Raymond Zhou (China Daily) Updated: 2005-08-30 06:12
Historically, Chinese women have had fewer opportunities for college
education than men. Recently there has been a noticeable trend for increased
equality: between 1998 and 2002, the ratio for women in the student body rose
steadily, from 38.31 per cent to 43.95 per cent. However, this shows that women,
for all the progress, are still at a disadvantage in receiving higher education.
Lin Huiqing, an official at the Ministry of Education, explained that "gender
equality and the protection of students' interests" are the basic principles for
college admissions, but each school makes its own policies with no need for
ministry approval .
"Everyone has an equal right to receive education," said Hong Chengwen, an
administrator at Beijing Normal University, "but the lack of balance in gender
distribution should be addressed." Hong said a school should set a gender ratio
appropriate for its recruitment.
"University is a reflection of society at large, and the more that school
policies are structured according to society, the easier it will be for students
once they graduate," he told China Daily.
Men and women have different perspectives, and they compliment each other in
class discussion and other teamwork, he added. But to ensure equality in school,
the government should introduce laws such as affirmative action to guarantee the
rights of both genders in every walk of life.
Gender equality has been a hot topic recently. A conference to commemorate
the 10th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women was started
yesterday. Additionally, the country's top legislature revised a law that will
now outlaw any form of discrimination against women.
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