Childhood Poverty Research and Policy

"4.2 million Chinese children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions.⁹  Both the absolute numbers and proportion of children living in poverty have declined over the 1990s. Education and health levels in China are higher than in many countries with equivalent incomes  - life expectancy at birth is 71 years, and 85 per cent of the population aged over 15 are literate. However, improvements in these areas have slowed down over the 1990s and there are major regional differences. For example, in 1999 the national child mortality rate was 32 per thousand but 47.9 in the West.¹⁰  While 80 per cent of Western Chinese children complete primary school, this is 9 per cent fewer than the national average and 15 per cent fewer than in Eastern China. Recent studies suggest that the health and education reforms are reducing poor families' ability to make use of these vital services. For example, one study in Beijing, China's richest city, found that 75 of poor families could not afford all children's education costs such as tuition fees and stationery costs, while 50 per cent of poor families in Shanghai had no medical insurance because they could not afford it.¹¹ "

This information is found at the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy website.  What stands out to me is that China's poor were getting wealthier after the fall of communism in their country and have began to level off in recent years or decline. The statistic of China's richest city, Beijing and it's peoples inability to afford vital education services makes me question their education system. Do they have a free public education system like we do here in America or are they all privately funded. Which makes me think of the current debate among Democrats and Republicans here in America over public versus privately funded education. Which is better for the people? Which will create a better education system, with less political action?