URUMQI/HANGZHOU, July 29(ABC): After finishing the school year in east China’s Zhejiang Province in early June, over 200 students from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region some 5,000 kilometers away embarked on their homeward journeys.
More than 20 teachers from the Changxing Vocational and Technical Education Center School also boarded the train.
They were not only chaperoning the trip, but were also planning to visit their students’ homes. Gu Hailin, vice headmaster of the school, has been accompanying students on the same trip for more than a decade.
Over the years, Gu has left footprints across both sides of the Tianshan Mountains, as the students hail from every part of Xinjiang. “We hope to address the students’ difficulties and their parents’ concerns to the extent of our abilities during those home visits,” Gu said.
Merdang Nurmemet from the SOS Children’s Village in Urumqi was among the 81 Xinjiang students to graduate from the school in 2022.
“After the high school entrance examination, the teachers in the children’s village suggested that I apply to a secondary vocational school, so I would not have to worry about tuition and living expenses,” said Merdang, who was orphaned at an early age.
The central government and the county government of Changxing respectively allocate 10,000 yuan (about 1,483 U.S. dollars) and 7,500 yuan per student every year. Students from Xinjiang not only enjoy free tuition, accommodation, food and school uniforms, but also receive a government grant of 200 yuan per month.