Families reaping the rewards of relocation
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E-mail China Daily, October 13, 2020
Tudi'ao Town Middle School is one of the designated educational facilities for poor families moving from remote areas to modern communities in Guizhou. A total of 145 out of 1,354 students at the school are from relocated families.
Wang Guorong, principal of the school, said students whose families had relocated only needed to bring their residence booklets for enrollment.
He added the school is equipped with three teaching buildings, an office building, dormitories for teachers and students, a canteen and a washing facility. "We aim to provide a healthy environment for students, and to contribute to rural culture and education development," Wang said.
Student Ran Honglian, 18, said she doesn't need to walk a long way or rent a room to attend school as she did before relocating. Ran's family shifted 20 kilometers to Datianbao community in 2018.
"Life here is much more comfortable. It's very convenient to go to school, the hospital and the shops," she said.
Ran's mother Tian Suxia, 52, takes care of the family on her own since her husband died. They live in a 166-sq-m house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Tian earns 800 yuan a month as a forest ranger. The new house and school tuition are both free. Her three other children have jobs. "My best wish is that Honglian can go to a good university," Tian said.
Guizhou has relocated 1.88 million poor people since 2016, the most of any province in that period. With education one of the most urgent needs of residents, Guizhou has invested over 18.1 billion yuan to build or renovate 669 schools in the past four years, Xinhua News Agency reported in August.
Early this year, the province set a target of completing the construction of the last 96 educational facilities by the end of June and putting them into operation before last month.
Local education authorities said the goal was achieved, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 52,000 students from relocated families being enrolled. The completion of the construction work means all relocation sites in Guizhou now have educational facilities.
The schools will help relocated families adapt to urban life, ensure stability and gradually increase their wealth, local authorities said.
