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February 02, 2006
Pushing Putonghua
An article in today's South China Morning Post discusses the mandatory teaching of Mandarin (also known as putonghua or the common language) in Xinjiang's Uyghur schools. While Mandarin has been taught exclusively in Xinjiang's universities since 2002, the order is now being extended down to the preschool level. This is one of those issues that really seems to have valid arguments on both sides. That is... yes, Uyghurs who speak Mandarin probably do have a better chance of finding a decent job and fitting in to Chinese society. And, yes... learning Mandarin Chinese to the exclusion of the Uyghur language will probably weaken the vitality and viability of Uyghur culture. I'm not quite sure where I stand on this one.
As always, you can read the full article by clicking below.
Putonghua push in Uygur nursery schools
Beijing says plan will help minority, but critics say culture is being shoved aside
2 February 2006
South China Morning Post
Starting this year, children from seven agricultural prefectures in Xinjiang will start learning Putonghua in nursery schools to strengthen the hold of the national language in the autonomous region.
The move is part of an ongoing effort to implement what the government calls a "bilingual" education system in primary and secondary schools. Putonghua is to be the medium of instruction for mathematics and science, while minority languages such as Uygur will continue to be used in humanities classes.
Xinhua quoted Deputy Secretary Nuer Baikeli as saying the only way to solve the problem and improve the quality of education was to start from the "golden period" - toddlers.
To entice pre-schoolers and teachers to join the programme, students will receive a subsidy of 1.5 yuan a day and teachers 400 yuan a month.
The subsidies will not be offered for bilingual education in primary and secondary schools.
The policy has raised questions about the survival of the native culture of Xinjiang, where the largest ethnic group are the Uygurs (45 per cent), followed by Han (41 per cent) and Kazakhs (7 per cent).
"This is a well-planned strategy by the Chinese government to permanently assimilate the Uygur people into the Chinese culture or dilute the Uygur culture," said Nury Turkel, president of the Uyghur American Association, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC.
"The Uygur language is one of the most important compositions of the Uygur culture. Taking away that right would create another type of Uygur culture."
About 70 per cent of schools in the region are ethnic minority schools, which - until recently - started teaching Putonghua as a second language in the third grade. The other 30 per cent teach all classes in Putonghua and introduce English as a second language in the third grade.
Ma Wenhua , deputy director of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Education Department, said the goal was to implement bilingual teaching in all minority schools so students would speak fluent Putonghua when they finished secondary school.
"We plan to have all minority schools use bilingual teaching from the first grade in 10 to 20 years," he told the South China Morning Post. "We think that if these children are not fluent in Putonghua, it could affect their job opportunities. It would also be difficult for them to continue their education."
The only thing that was stopping the government from moving faster was a lack of qualified teachers, Mr Ma said. Most ethnic minority teachers do not know enough Putonghua to teach in that medium.
Mr Ma estimated that only 5 per cent of ethnic minority primary schools had started teaching in Putonghua. The level of participation varied depending on the number of qualified teachers.
One teacher from an ethnic minority school in Urumqi said her school planned to start teaching mathematics in Putonghua next year.
Most teachers did not know Putonghua and had started training in the language.
The teacher would not say whether she thought bilingual education was better.
"We'll have to see how it goes," she said.
Gardner Bovingdon, assistant professor of Indiana University who specialises in Xinjiang studies, also had doubts.
"To teach them content like maths and science in Putonghua - the implicit message is that your own mother tongue is not a modern language.... therefore, it does not have much of a future," he said.
"Their language is being shoved aside. There's no question about that."
The government started requiring universities to teach all classes in Putonghua, except for language and culture classes, in 2002.
Wang Ning , director of the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Economics, said the language policy would help development in the region because a more qualified talent pool could attract more investment.
Some Uygur parents also seem to be feeling this way. A teacher from a Chinese-medium primary school in Urumqi said about a third of its students were from ethnic minorities.
posted February 02, 2006 at 04:03 AM unofficial Xinjiang time | HaoHao This!
Comments
I was wondering when this would hit the press. I first heard about it at the Central Eurasian Studies Society Conference last year - word was afoot this plan was coming down the pipeline. As Dr. Bovingdon said, it definitely pushes Uyghur language aside. That said, most middle and upper class Uyghurs in Urumqi were big on having min kao han (Chinese first language) kids. Most Uyghur kids in the private schools and EF program didn't speak Uyghur as a primary language.
Oh, as for Google Analytics, the only invites I have are for gmail. If I get one, though, its yours.
Posted by: davesgonechina at February 2, 2006 08:27 AM
Let's be honest: Xinjiang is not going to become independent anytime soon. If these kids are going to ever integrate into the PRC, they are going to have to know putonghua. I'm shocked it's taken this long, frankly.
Posted by: Tequila at February 2, 2006 04:29 PM
Micheal,how are you these days!!to my surprise,you have been in the USA for so long time,you still know and care about the things in Xinjiang or in China.what about your Putonghua?maybe you have forgotten much of them.I am Eric,can you remember me???
Maybe some of your points are right.As i konw , many students(min kao han,only in some cities)speak Putonghua at school and communicate with their family memebers at home in Uyghur.They know they should keep their own Uyghur culture.Many of the Uyghur students want to go to their own school.And from this year on, everything is free for the students in the countryside.Far more ,the Uyghur students have the rights that they can go to the colleges in a lower mark,we (Han) haven't.
Posted by: eric at February 11, 2006 01:13 AM
More:
BAXKERAM KANT, China--At an elementary school on the outskirts of an oasis town along the Silk Road, Chinese authorities are carrying out a unique cultural experiment.
29 March 2006
Asahi Shimbun/Asahi Evening News
In one of the classrooms of this white, one-story school house, 47 students in the fourth grade are reading their "national language" textbook in a loud voice. The language is Chinese. However, all of the children are members of the Uyghur ethnic minority. At home, they speak the Uyghur language
Located in the town of Baxkeram Kant in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, the school is attracting notice as a pioneering bilingual school, in which children of a minority people learn subjects not in their own language but in Chinese
The school was set up in 2000 by the local government at a cost of about 430,000 yuan (6 million yen). All of the 532 students are Uyghur, an Islamic people whose ancestors are said to have come from Turkey
The school children have four classes a week to learn their mother tongue, Uyghur, and as many as seven classes a week to study their national language, Chinese. All other subjects are taught in Chinese, and children are forbidden to speak Uyghur on the school grounds. The textbooks they use are the same as those used by children of China's main ethnic group, the Han people, who account for 92 percent of the total population of China. Most of the teachers at the school are also Han
In other public schools in and around Baxkeram Kant, where more than 95 percent of the population is Uyghur, students have only four classes a week to learn Chinese language and all of their subjects are taught in Uyghur
Arzigul, an 11-year-old fourth-grader, transferred to the bilingual school from a conventional public school three years ago. Since then, her Chinese language abilities have improved to a level where she can carry on conversations easily in Chinese
"I would like to become a medical doctor and treat Uyghur people," Arzigul said
Her parents are cotton and grape farmers. Her 53-year-old father, who is in poor heath, is not even able to talk with receptionists at hospitals because he cannot understand Chinese
He hoped by enrolling her in the bilingual school, his daughter would have a brighter future. He knew that with Chinese she would have a chance to land a good job later on
More and more Uyghur people are hoping to get their children into bilingual school. Last year, 737 children applied for just 80 places. The school held a math test to choose successful applicants
Tuitions and dormitory fees are paid by the state. Students pay 180 yuan (about 2,500 yen) every six months for other expenses, including the cost of food. That figure amounts to about 10 percent of the average per capita annual income in the area of about 1,860 yuan. There are few job prospects available to young Uyghurs except farming
"If they can speak Chinese language, they can obtain professional knowledge and skills," said the bilingual school's president Huang Ming
Huang, 33, is a Han Chinese who grew up in Baxkeram Kant. He once taught at an elementary school for Han children, but when local Uyghurs told him they wanted their children to learn Chinese, he urged the local government to set up a bilingual school
"There are no parents who don't hope that their children have good lives in the future," Huang said
The school is now constructing another building and plans to accept as many as 200 new students this summer
In the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region's Yarkant prefecture, where Baxkeram Kant is located, even some of the conventional public schools are teaching mathematics and science in Chinese
"If Uyghur children master Chinese, they have better chances for their future. I want to show (what is possible) in this prefecture," said the prefectural governor, who uses a single name, Osman
Osman, 43, who is Uyghur and who grew up in the autonomous region's capital city of Urumqi, was appointed governor of Yarkant prefecture in September last year. Previously, he was in charge of Chinese language education to minorities at a university. His achievements at the university led to his appointment as governor
The school at Baxkeram Kant is part of a broader effort by Beijing to spread Chinese language to 55 minorities in the country. Among the 8 million Uyghurs, efforts to encourage people to learn Chinese have been stepped up since 2000. Measures include: EInviting senior high school students in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region to schools in Beijing and Shanghai free of charge so that they can study there; EInviting junior high school students to Urumqi, also at no cost to their families, to study Chinese; ETraining teachers who can speak both Chinese and Uyghur languages
EUsing Chinese-language textbooks at Uyghur elementary schools
"A common language is necessary for every people to take part in economic activities on an equal basis," said an official of the autonomous region's education department
Critics of the language programs say it is part of a plan by Beijing to neutralize ethnic minorities and force them to assimilate with the Han majority
In the autonomous region, some Uyghurs are engaged in a movement for separation and independence from China. However, a growing number of young Uyghurs are growing up with weaker reading and writing skills in their native language
"(Even if they master Chinese,) I don't want them to forget our language," Arzigul's father said.
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