s at Qinghua University lived in extremely crowded quarters and 4.5 per cent had no apartments, while 600 single teachers lived in rooms shared by three or four.

The tradition over thousands of years that scholars should not pursue material goals has changed. Manp teachers have quit their school jobs to do business. Others say they hope that their children will not become teachers like them.

To make things worse, the limited funds for education have not always been used in the right way.

Between 1985 and 1986, government auditing departments discovered that as much as 500 million yuan was spent on official buildings, cars and business activities, while many students attended classes in rundown classrooms or even outdoors.

2. Education Is about Something More Important

Yes, but what is education about? Is it really about facts and figures, learning things by heart-you know, the three "r' s"reading, writing and arithmetic (and that shows somebody can't spell, doesn't it?) No, it gets me really cross.People criticize modern education because some kids don't know their seven times table. Hell, what does that matter in the age of computers and calculators? No, education is about something much more imgortant. It's about teaching people how to live, how to get on with one another, how to form relationships. It's about understanding things, not just knowing them. O.K. seven sevens are forty-nine. But what does that mean? It's not just a formula, you know. I want my kids to understand.

3. People Don't Learn Anything Today

I think it's a great shame the way educational standards are declining today. I mean, good heavens, when you think of all the millions of pounds the Government have spent on education-new schools, more teachers, new equipment. And yet still you find people who can't read properly, can't even write their names and don't know what two and two are without a calculator. I think it's downright disgraceful. I remember

when I was young you went to school to learn. You did as you were told and respected your teachers.

Nowadays. Huh, nowadays you get long-haireil kids who aren't interested in anything. No wonder they don't learn anything. A bit of discipline, that's what they need. A bit of discipline.



4. Traditional Schools Face Challenge

Every Tuesday and Friday, 6-year-old Huang Kan goes to an evening class to learn how to play the piano. He shows little interest in this extra class, but his mother is willing to pay 18 yuan a month for his tuition. He is one of the many only children who in recent years have started attending classes to learn to play musical instruments, or to paint or sing, either on holidays or in the evenings during week-days.

Such classes are usually run by individuals. Between ABCs and music, the government can only afford the former. Music and painting are seen as luxury items for Chinese children.

But parents are eager to have the talents of their only children developed. They want their children to learn far more than the Chinese and arithmetic offered by the public schools.

The people in education and artistic circles are filling this gap between the parents, wishes and public schools, supply.

In the past,after-school activity centres were encouraged to provide free classes in dancing, playing the violin and Chinese boxing. But as more and more people become interested and seek to take part, teac

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