Monday 13 June 2011

Beijing embassy school's long march ends

The shutting down of a school inside the complex in  on Monday may anger Indian parents whose kids got good education at affordable fees but it marks an endorsement by  of the Chinese capital as a global city. 

The school was set up 30 years ago so that embassy employees didn't have to send their children to Chinese schools during the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong's decade of purges and pogroms. From the mid-1960s, the 'Gang of Four', that included Mao's last wife controlled most organs and set out to remodel the education system, taking a cue from Mao's "Learn from the proletariat" slogan. That meant a curriculum rooted in Mao's ideals and hardships like long hours on the farm. 

"The school has outlived its original purpose, which was to provide a facility during the  when there were not enough schools for expats," said ambassador S Jaishankar, as a children's party was on to mark the closure of the school. 

Beijing had grown into an international city with educational options. And there were very few children of Indian officials or the larger Indian community studying in the school, Jaishankar said. 

But many Indian employees said the decision was bound to affect those who work for companies that refuse to reimburse the high cost of schooling, which is usually higher than $1,500 a month. It would make Beijing a less attractive posting, they said. "I may have to send my child to India as I cannot afford fees in international schools," a parent said. The school inside the embassy premises served kids between the kindergarten and Class IV. 

"We requested the embassy to close one class each year so that our educational plans are not disturbed. The parents raised this issue during the meeting with the ambassador. But it was rejected," he said. 

Fees at this school were possibly the lowest at about $200 a month compared to other English-medium schools in Beijing that charge about $1,500. The only other low cost-option is a school run by Embassy. 

The Indian school also served a diplomatic purpose because parents working in embassies of several other countries sent their kids. It also meant substantial saving for the Indian government because it did not pay embassy employees the higher fees charged by other schools till Class IV.

No comments:

Post a Comment