Benchmark against other NGOs

Below is a case study of some of educational Chinese NGOs and how they have helped extend
education to the poor.

NongovernmentalOrganizationsandtheDevelopmentof
ChinasEducation
Theconfluenceofnongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs)withthedevelopmentofChinas
educationisnotamerechanceencounter.VoluntarismandNGOsholdenormoussignificancefor
Chinaseducation.However,theattentiongiveninallquartersfromthegovernmentto
academiccirclesandincludingpeoplewhostudyandformulatepoliciestothedevelopmentof
NGOsineducationisquiteinadequate.

Chinese Education and Society

EducationhasalwaysbeenafieldinwhichNGOscanplayamajorrole,andasfarasNGO
peopleparticipatingineducationorNGOpeoplewhointendtoengageineducationalpracticeare
concerned,eachpartywillfindthattheotherpossessesprofoundlearningandfairlyhigh
professionalthresholds.Becauseneitherseemstohavebeenpayingenoughattentiontothe
professionalnatureoftheotherparty,manypeopleareengagingineducationalpracticein
completeignoranceandpurelyoutofenthusiasm.Mr.ZhaoWeihongoftheChinaNGOCenter,
hasbeguntomakeapointofbringingeducationexpertsintoanumberofhisprojectsthathaveto
dowitheducation.ZhaoWeihongevenputforwardaverysignificanttopic:Itisprobablynot
enoughtoengageinassistancetoeducationmerelyoutofgoodintentions;certainprofessional
qualificationsarenecessary.ButonehasthefeelingthatwhenNGOsgetregistered,theyare
simplylookingforsomethingtoattachthemselvestoandhavelittleconceptionofthe
significanceofthequalificationsoftheentitytowhichtheyattachthemselves.
FollowingisamentionofNGOsthatholdsignificantsignificancefortherealitiesofChinas
socialdevelopmenttodayortypicalaspectsoftheiractivities.TheseNGOsplayedamajorrolein
reformingChinaseducationtrendsin2004.
TheChinaYouthDevelopmentFoundation:TheIntellectualExistenceofThisGONGO
andItsQuietReconfiguration
OnJanuary13,2004,theChinaYouthDevelopmentFoundation,whichhadlongagotakenroot
intheruralareas,turneditseyestowardthecitiesandannouncedthatitwasstartingupaHope
ProjectPlantoBringSchoolingAssistanceintotheCitiesdirectlyorientedtowardthechildren
ofpeasantlaborers.WorthnotingisthefactthatattheendofAugust,whenitdecidedits
allocationoffunds,theCYDFchangeditspreviousmethodofplanningandallocatingfunding
quotasandemployedthemethodofseekingbidsfordetermining,byselectionofthebest,the
distributionofschoolingassistanceprojectsinthecities.Morethanfortycitiesparticipatedinthe
competitionfortheprojects,whichultimatelylockedinontwentysevenofthecities.

Bymeansofthisactivity,tourgethegovernmenttoproducepoliciesthatwillbringabout
equalityintherighttoeducation.Tovieforthesefunds,HopeProjectofficesinXian,
Shenyang,Harbin,andmanyothercitiesrepeatedlynegotiatedwithbureausofeducationand
otherrelevantdepartments,hopingtourgetherelevantgovernmentdepartmentstoproducea
seriesoftemporarypoliciesthatwouldhelpthechildrenofpeasantlaborersgotoschool.
TheCYDFhasinthepastfifteenyearssolicitedRMB2.4billioninfundsinChinaandabroad,
providedassistancetomorethat2,742,000schooldropouts,constructed11,500Hopeschools
accountingfor2.5percentofallelementaryschoolsinthecountry,andequipped13,000book
repositoriesandHopelibraries.ItisalsoobviousthattheHopeProjectscontributionsinthepast
fifteenyearsarenotlimitedtothese.OnenewspaperarticlestatedTheHopeProjecthastruly
openedawindowforthepeopleofourcountrytounderstandsociety.Inthepast15years,the
socialpublichasnotonlyhelpedlargenumbersofpoorstudentsthroughtheHopeProject,but
hasalsotrulycometounderstandthestateofeducationinChinaunderthebinaryurbanrural
system.
TheCYDFsfifteenyearsofarduousendeavorshavefollowedaverydistinctmainthread;thatof
strivingtoprovidepoorchildrenwithequalopportunitiestoaneducation.Inaddition,theCYDF
isnotonlyinfluencingvariousquartersinsocietybyvisibleandtangiblematerialmeansor
projectsbutisalsoinfluencinggovernmentpolicy.DuringaninterviewwithFuTao,reporterof
theZhongguofazhanjianbao(ChinaDevelopmentBriefs),XuYongguansaidthattheCYDF
actuallyhasmanyideaswithregardtopolicy,andithasindeedconsidereddirectlyexertinga
morepowerfulinfluenceonthegovernment,butithasrarelyattemptedtodosointhepast.The
CYDFsprincipleforitsexistenceanddevelopmenthasbeenoneofopeningupbutnot
oversteppingbounds,innovatingbutnotdepartingfromtheessentials,openingupbut
maintainingrestraint,andbeingconservativebutavoidingrigidity.
ThisisprobablythestrategyofmostNGOsinthepresentphase.Theyneedtoknowhowtomake
intelligentuseoftheirunityofoppositesrelationshipwiththegovernment.Iftheyarethoroughly
marginalizedbecauseofopposition,theywillonlyloseallopportunitytoinfluencethe
government.However,theycannotplayamotivationalroleiftheycomplyinallmattersandlose
theirindependenceofwill.
TheCYDFsowncourseofdevelopmentandgrowthisnotlackingininspirationalsignificance
formanyoftodaysNGOsthatpossessofficialbackgrounds.In1989,theCentralCommitteeof
theChineseCommunistYouthLeague(CCYL)appropriatedRMB100,000inregistrationfunds
forsettinguptheCYDF,andXuYongguang,whowasthendirectoroftheorganizational
departmentoftheCCYLCentralCommittee,tookpartinpreparatoryworkandbecamethe
CYDFsfirstsecretarygeneral.Actually,therearemanysuchNGOorganizationsinChinas
currentsystemicenvironment,andaconsiderablenumberoftheminthefieldofeducationandin
variousacademicsocietiesandassociationsevenquiteactivelyseekpatronagefromthe
government.

SunshineintheWestAction(Xibuyanguangxingdong):ThePublicGoodNeedsYoung
PeopleandRemoldsYoungPeople
OnJuly9,2004,theSunshineintheWestAction,spontaneouslyorganizedbymorethan100
universitystudentsinBeijing,helditssettingoutceremonyattheUniversityofForeign
EconomicRelationsandTrade.StartedupbyShangLifu,thisaction,whichhadtheparticipation
ofmorethan120peoplefromsixteenstudentcommunitiesatBeijingUniversityandtwelveother
universitiesinthecapital,wasdirectedateducationintheruralareasofthenorthwesternregion.
Itwasthestartupceremonyforeducationalandculturalsupportthepooractivitiesintherural
areasofNorthwestChinaactivitiesthataresupportedbyundergraduates,M.A.sandPh.D.sin
variousspecializations,aswellaseducationalexpertsandvariousquartersinsociety.
Previously,ShangLifuhad,byhimself,equippedwithabicycleandatentandpayinghisway
withincomefromdoingcasualwork,spentsixyearsconductinginvestigationsintheruralareas
ofmorethantwentyprovincesandregions.Duringtheseperegrinationshemadenotes,reflected,
andissuedcalls.Themorethan5,000photographshetookwereshownatrovingexhibitionsin
nearlytwentyuniversities,includingBeijingandQinghuaUniversities.
ShangLifusexploitsandhisinformationaboutconditionsintheruralareasinNorthwestChina
elicitedstrongreverberationsamongstudentsinBeijingsuniversitiesandconsiderableattention
amongthemedia,experts,andscholarsinthecapital.Manycollegestudentsofferedtobecome
volunteersintheserviceofthenorthwest.Asmanydifferentforcescoalesced,anactionwasborn
onethatwasspontaneouslyorganizedbycollegestudentsandthatgoestothenorthwestto
engageinsocialpracticeinsupportofthatregion.
Manyenterprisesandfoundationsspontaneouslyjoinedintheaction.Theranksofvolunteers
weredividedintodifferentdetachments:

TheSamsungGroupprovidedfundingsupportfortheSichuanDalodetachment,theFord
FoundationhelpedfundtheGansuHejiashandetachment,andtheMeixinlufoundation
helpedfundtheNingxiaGugoudetachment.

Universitystudentsindifferentspecializationsplannedactioncontentsaimedatdifferent
aspects:Studentsineducationalspecializationsprovidedtrainingforteachersand
students;thoseinagriculturalspecializationsconductedtrainingforpeasants,
investigatedlocalfarmingpractices,andcollectedsoilsamplesthattheythenbrought
backforanalysisbyexpertstohelpthepeasantspromptlyadjusttheircropmakeup;
studentsinindustrialspecializationsmadecontactwithruralenterprisesandcounseled
themonmattersoflongrangedevelopmentandproductmarketing;studentsineconomic
specializationscontactedlocalvillageandtownshipheadsandparticipatedindrawingup
longtermruraldevelopmentplans;andstudentsinspecializationsrelatedtowomens
issuesworkedtogetherwithvillageheadsindevelopingrightsandbenefitsactivities
amongruralwomendirectedatinstancesofhouseholdviolence,explainedthe
importanceofthefamilyforthehealthydevelopmentofchildren,andurgedwomento
playamajorandspecialroleinamelioratingruralgovernanceandrurallife,andin
increasingwomensselfdeterminationintheirlives.

Ihopetobehereeveryyeartosendnewfacestothenorthwest,saidProfessorYangDongping
oftheBeijingScienceandEngineeringUniversitywhohadcometoseethestudentsoffandwas
cladinthebrightredTshirtwornbyallvolunteers.ProfessorYangandotherelderlypersons
presentfoundsolaceinthefactthatagreattraditionwasbeingcarriedforward.Chinese
intellectualsstartedacampaigntoremoldtheruralareasseveraldozenyearsago.Now,several
dozenyearslater,Chineseuniversitystudentsarebeginningtodevoteattentionandgotorural
areas
Thepublicwealneedsyoungpeopleandremoldsyoungpeople.Thisisamostaptstatement
fordescribingthesignificanceofthepublicwealandyoungpeople.Infact,manyuniversity
studentshavethrownthemselvesintovariousactivitiesforthepublicwealthisyear,and
voluntarismhasrisenamongthenewgenerationofChinese.Anditisamongthemthatthenew
generationofNGOpersonsisbeingborn.

Adopt a School Program (Pakistan)

An example of a successful publicprivate partnership for the education of
underprivileged children is the Adopt a School program introduced first in
Sindh in 1997 and later in other provinces. The program involves a
partnership between the government (provincial or district education
department, or municipality) and the private sector (NGO, parentteacher
association, welfare group or philanthropic individuals). The aim of this
partnership is to strengthen failing government schools characterized by their
poor quality of teaching and deteriorating infrastructure. More specifically,
the idea is to (i) strengthen the management and supervision of the adopted
school, (ii) mobilize parents and community and assign them a greater role,
(iii) improve the quality of teachers and curriculum implementation, (iv)
improve school infrastructure and (v) mobilize financial resources from within
and outside government (e.g., from the Provincial Education Foundations,
business groups or wealthy individuals who may themselves be school
adopters).
The school adopters enter into an agreement with the government, develop a
school improvement plan and identify strategies to mobilize funds for
implementing the plan. The Adopt a School program has generally been
hailed as a successful model for improving the quality of government schools
(Ministry of Education b). However, there have been undocumented
reports of tensions between the adopters, teachers and local government
supervisors. The latter see the adopters as outsiders challenging their own
authority in the school.

Conclusion: What can Pakistan take away from these

examples?
One thing that Pakistan needs at this time of its evolution is to integrate communities. It needs to
find out how to engage youths from priveleged backgrounds and sound educational experiences
with the underpriveleged community at large. Just like the Sunshine in the West example, unless
educated young generation will be brought together for the development of the education sector,

there is little hope of reaching out to the poor. Involvement of these people in the teaching
fraternity as well as management will greatly contribute to the expansion of the educational cause
and will help young underpriveleged students to benefit from their learning insights.
Another important thing to note here is that affiliations and partnerships are likely to work better
than a single NGO alone. NGO's in Pakistan must strive for a partnership with government to
ensure certain level of funding as well as other benefits that the government can provide easily.
Apart from this, there can be an affiliation in teacher sharing whereby NGO's manage the
provision of quality teachers to government schools and minimise any expenses except that of
teachers. This way, the reach will be greater and many areas will be able to benefit.
One insight from the China Youth Development Foundation is that NGO's striving for a similar
cause must learn to group together so that they can exert a unified pressure on the government to
influence certain policies in their favor, or generally in the education sector.Pakistan has the
added advantage that there is greater public confidene in the BGO's and a general mistrust of the
government's marginalised effort.