Poverty leaves China's college students laden with psychological problems, survey says
6/7/2006 14:54
College students coming form low-income families in China are more likely
to carry psychological problems, a latest survey found.
The survey, released
by China Youth Development Foundation, was based on its recent research after
polling 400 university students in Beijing whose families had financial
difficulties.
Nearly 70 percent of the impoverished students came from the
countryside.
According to the survey, 60 percent of the polled students said
they felt "utterly shamed" for being poor, and 22.5 percent of them had very low
self-esteem, as they frequently considered themselves "inferior" to
others.
"They were reluctant to let others know they were poor and refused to
accept even goodwill companion from their teachers and classmates," the survey
said.
Observers say students from low-income families are just as likely to
be the pride of their family and the their communities. But in schools, they can
feel the additional pressure for their economic status among the peers, as they
probably cannot afford frequent hang-outs and many other activities.
The
survey said 40 percent of students from low-income families were less
enthusiastic about ex-curriculum activities and 20 percent of them held "bias
and negative" opinions on the society.
In China, families have to pay at
least 8,000 yuan (US$1,000) every year to support a college student, which means
the farmers have to spend years of their income to support a college
student.
And there are roughly 5 million college students need financial aids
at present, the survey estimated.
China introduced a pilot state education
loan system in 1999, and by the end of 2005, state loans had reached 2.068
million college students by issuing 17.27 billion yuan, official figures
indicated.
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