Expert explains absence of illiterate people in China to Burkinabe journalists

The Hunan Foreign Trade Professional Institute (China) explained to Burkinabe journalists and communicators the zero illiteracy rate achieved by China since the 2000s as well as the reasons for this performance, Friday in Changsha, at the opening of a training seminar for the Burkinabe media.Gui Cheng, a researcher and vice-president of the Hunan Institute of Foreign Trade, speaking on "a long history of China: 5,000 years of Chinese civilization," recalled that there have been "no illiterate people in China" since the beginning of the 21st century.According to researcher Gui Cheng, the government's decision to make education compulsory for nine years and other incentives for children from hard-to-reach areas have helped China achieve 100 percent school enrollment."School is compulsory for all in China for the nine years during which there is no repeating, that is, six years in primary school and three years in secondary school," said the Changsha researcher.In hard-to-reach areas, especially in remot e mountains, the government has decided to offer free lunches to students. "These meals have, to some extent, relieved families and encouraged parents to enroll their children in school," Gui Cheng said.At the end of the compulsory schooling period and depending on the results, the children move into normal or vocational education.The subjects taught include mathematics, language, life and earth sciences, history, geography and practical knowledge of daily life such as cleaning, recognizing plants, using means of transport, according to Gui Cheng.According to expert Cheng, efforts to reduce the illiteracy rate in China began after the establishment of New China, after 1949, and continued in the 1980s. However, it was from 1990, coinciding with the economic dynamism of China, that efforts in education were completed.His presentation ended with China's performance in respecting the environment and promoting renewable energy.Opened on October 11 for the benefit of 28 Burkinabe journalists and communica tors, the training seminar for media managers in Burkina Faso will end on October 31.Source: Burkina Information Agency