Health and Education Flashcards
What were the min-pan schools and how successful were they?
Between 1949 and 1957 the number of primary school students increased from approximately 26 million to 64 million
in rural areas the min-pan or ‘run by the people’ primary schools, financially supported and managed by the local village, were key to improving access. the party aims to establish a min-pan school in every village
Despite this the higher education minister admitted that 78% of the population remained illiterate and only 52% of children of school age were attending primary school.
Describe the University reforms.
University enrolments almost quadrupled from 117,000 to 441,000.
The campaigns in the early days of the regime forced out most intellectuals and professors.
There was a focus on degrees which were helpful in a modern economy and a less of a focus on the liberal arts
Education was based on the Soviet model and by 1953 63% of students were in engineering, medicine and agriculture. The imitation of the Soviet model became absurd with college students sitting their own examinations at cloth covered tables upon which add vases of flowers simply because that was the way the Russians did it
Describe the introduction of Pinyin.
The new singular national identity created an issue of communication with different groups and areas of China all having very different dialects with no standardised written alphabet.
To fix this, the government introduced Pinyin in 1955 which was based on the Latin alphabet and was one of the regime’s most enduring forms and remains the form of written language in China today.
It greatly improved communication
What were the problems with these educational reforms?
Despite the reforms to the education system, it remained elitist with the entry requirements for schools in universities being simply too high for uneducated peasants Anne favoured the new privilege class, children of party officials.
the winter schools were too infrequent, and schools mainly serviced urban areas
What happened to education after the great leap foward?
Educational opportunities for young people were sacrificed so they could partake in the backyard furnaces another work. al promoted 1/2 work half study curriculum that rejected traditional wrote learning techniques and learn vocational courses on agricultural techniques along with basic maths and language.
The elitism returned which convinced Mao that the capitalist roaders had taken over the party. Out of the socialist education campaign politics and background returned as a ground for admission to middle school and education focused on Marxist Leninist theory and class struggle.
Doing the cultural revolution schools and universities were closed as the red guards abandoned their education to travel to Beijing and attend the eight massive rallies. students intimidated their teachers at struggle meetings forcing them to kneel for hours in the aeroplane position.
health?
In China, especially in rural areas there was reliance on acupuncture and herbalism and healthcare was practically nonexistent and public health spending was not a priority of the regime.
Mao introduced the barefoot doctors which were simply young people with rudimentary medical training. they were given the barefoot doctors manual and Simply put, doctors with rudimentary training were better than no doctors at all. And they played an important part in challenging traditional practises in spreading modern medical knowledge and basic care in rural areas.
