Concern for needy students

German trade group donates 200,000 yuan to youngsters from Anhui county

The German Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai recently donated 200,000 yuan ($32,103) to support the education of needy Chinese students.

The funds were handed over to the Pfrang Association, a charity in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, on Feb 26.

They will support two years of school education for 51 students from Jinzhai county in Anhui province. All of the selected students come from underprivileged backgrounds and would struggle to complete their educations without financial help.

With the donation, 51 students are enabled to attend school for the next two years. The cash is enough to cover the cost of boarding, food, clothes and learning materials.

"The members of the German chamber share a common understanding of the importance of promoting education so we were delighted to announce we will be able to support these students for two years," said Titus von dem Bongart, chairman of the board of the German Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. "We are looking forward to deepening our charitable and personal involvement with the Chinese community. As a German membership organization active in China it is among our essential responsibilities to contribute to the further sustainable development of our host country," he added.

Von dem Bongart also said chamber members will follow up on the project by visiting the schools and will then decide upon further support during and after the two-year term.

In addition, the German chamber found a German-headed organization in the Pfrang Association that could provide transparency over the allocation of funds and monitoring of the program.

The nonprofit charity Pfrang Association was founded in the year 2000 in memory of the German Pfrang family. It aims to provide education and financial support to disadvantaged Chinese students, particularly orphaned students, students with disabilities, students belonging to Chinese ethnic minorities and female students.

Every year, more than 200 students have received support from the association since it was founded in 2000.

"We are very happy with this involvement of the German Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai," said Julia Gsten, president of the Pfrang Association. "Our association is highly dependable on external support and welcomes every financial as well as personal contribution from our partners."

According to the Shanghai chamber, if the project is successful, students may even be able to participate in the German business community in the future.

Over past years, the Chinese government has regularly raised subsidies for students from underprivileged families to ensure all children of school age can receive an education.

Since 2010 when China released its education reform and development outline, the country has improved the subsidy system for students, including pre-schoolers and high school students. The scales of the subsidies have been expanded with more needy students covered. Also the size of the overall pot has been raised, according to the Ministry of Education.

Furthermore, the government has also been improving nutritional support for rural students during their years of compulsory education.

Chinese universities are also encouraged to enroll more students from under-developed areas in the country's western regions to ensure a balanced education level among students from the country's different regions.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/18/2013 page22)