Peking University in discrimination debate
By Wang Zhuoqiong and Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-30 06:12

Historically, Chinese women have had fewer opportunities for college education than men. Recently there has been a noticeable trend for increased equality: between 1998 and 2002, the ratio for women in the student body rose steadily, from 38.31 per cent to 43.95 per cent. However, this shows that women, for all the progress, are still at a disadvantage in receiving higher education.

Lin Huiqing, an official at the Ministry of Education, explained that "gender equality and the protection of students' interests" are the basic principles for college admissions, but each school makes its own policies with no need for ministry approval .

"Everyone has an equal right to receive education," said Hong Chengwen, an administrator at Beijing Normal University, "but the lack of balance in gender distribution should be addressed." Hong said a school should set a gender ratio appropriate for its recruitment.

"University is a reflection of society at large, and the more that school policies are structured according to society, the easier it will be for students once they graduate," he told China Daily.

Men and women have different perspectives, and they compliment each other in class discussion and other teamwork, he added. But to ensure equality in school, the government should introduce laws such as affirmative action to guarantee the rights of both genders in every walk of life.

Gender equality has been a hot topic recently. A conference to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women was started yesterday. Additionally, the country's top legislature revised a law that will now outlaw any form of discrimination against women.