More to fear in China's schools than sexual predators
Zhang Xiaomao says no national revival is possible without a shake-up
If the tainted milk scandal did huge harm to former president Hu Jintao's vision of a "harmonious society", then the latest cases of sexual assaults in schools by teachers make a mockery of President Xi Jinping's dream of reviving the Chinese nation.
According to media reports, in the past month alone there have been at least nine incidents of serious sexual assault in China's schools. Given Xi's appeal, on the eve of International Children's Day recently, for efforts to nurture and prevent harm to children, he may well be aware of the problem.
Government control has stifled academic independence and individuals’ creative spirit
The revelations have badly tarnished the traditional image of Chinese teachers, who have been held up as models of virtue and learning, and have also shaken people's confidence in the education system.
In fact, what should really worry the public is China's total disregard for education.
This is seen in the fact that, under rules enforced by local authorities, parents still have to pay to send their children to school, even though the nation's education law that mandates the right to free education has been in force for 27 years.
This horrible inconsistency between the realities and the law calls into question the effectiveness of the latter.
Then there is the lack of effective penalties for parents who don't send their children to school. As a result, there may be millions who are not receiving any education, although official data is hard to come by. Some unofficial statistics show that China had 142 million children not in school before 1992, and about 27 million in 2003 alone.