Discussion on Huining phenomenon

First, the confusion of the West

When we study the rise and fall, social operation and economic development of a country or region, we have to pay attention to those typical cases and representative events that exist in our accessible field of vision. This is the representative evaluation problem discussed by barzel. Based on this, since I came to the northwest, there has always been a problem that bothers me, and that is how to improve the economic development in the barren areas of the Loess Plateau.

From an academic point of view, last April 1, some scholars mentioned that the problem of insufficient funds for the development of the western region could be solved. We can consider drawing lessons from the models of Las Vegas in the United States and Macau Special Zone in China, and setting up the Northwest Special Zone in Lanzhou to allow the development of the gambling industry. However, due to various limitations and so-called conceptual problems, it could not be realized and was shelved. Furthermore, in recent years, a new international movement, the Sand Pai Movement, has emerged, and there is also this movement in Ningxia. Unfortunately, the Gobi yellow sand in Hehuang area here is very different from that suitable for the Sand Pai Movement, so there is no way to promote and implement some "Sand Pai" movements here in order to bring some economic vitality to the local area.

As a bounded rational scholar, the happiest thing is to suddenly and inexplicably find a good example or problem. Because sometimes, on the one hand, like Arthur? Okun said: "A good example is often better than 1000 equations" (Samuelson and nordhaus); On the other hand, as Zhou Qiren said, "The answer to a good question is often implicit." Perhaps this is the economics that Mr. Zhou has been advocating in the real world instead of on the blackboard-"For me, the greatest happiness of research is to sit on the ox cart of farmers, chat with them and learn some first-hand information and elements about agricultural problems." I don't have the courage, mind, perseverance and courage of Mr. Qi Ren. However, I didn't want to take a ride in May 13- 14 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March organized by the school trade union, but my trip to join forces with Huining on the Long March still gave me a big surprise.

Second, the phenomenon of Huining

Huining has a long history of place names, named after the intersection of Zuhe River and Lihe River. The ancient Zuhe River and Lihe River are no longer full of water, but Huining people have changed this land that depends on the sky with unimaginable power, and firmly erected the consciousness of "no matter how poor you are, you can't afford education" in the hearts of local people, and really put education into practice. This spiritual strength originated from the tradition of respecting education and was infected by the indomitable Long March spirit of the Red Army. This is the key to their unwilling fate, overcoming poverty and achieving their future. Historically, it was an important post station on the Silk Road, where people came and went and trade flourished. With the changes of history, today's Huining has lost its former prosperous appearance, leaving only barren land for Huining people. However, the industrious people of Huining have not been decadent because of this. They have created a miracle in this arid land with their industrious hands-a miracle that is not commensurate with the extremely poor school conditions and fruitful teaching results (Du)

Huining County, located in the middle of Gansu Province, is a big county that mainly produces miscellaneous grains. Located at an average elevation of 2 100 meters, the natural conditions are harsh. 10 drought occurred in 10, with annual precipitation of 300 ml, but evaporation reached1.800ml.. Known as "the bitterness in the middle of Gansu is the best in the world." The county has jurisdiction over 29 townships and 4 towns, with a total population of nearly 600,000. It is the first entrance county in Gansu Province. The agricultural population is about 560,000, accounting for more than 96%. The children in Huining are famous for their hard work. Huining, as an ancient city with a history of more than 2 100 years, has a prosperous style of writing in past dynasties. Only in the Ming and Qing dynasties, 20 scholars won, winning 1 13. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were two students from Huining, while the total number of students in Gansu Province was only ***5. According to the data of Huining Education Bureau, there are 622 schools of all levels and types in the county, with about 6,543,800 students. Since the resumption of the college entrance examination, the county has sent more than 40,000 students to universities all over the country, including more than 200 doctors, nearly 2,000 masters and 20,000 bachelors. More importantly, education has trained about 6.5438+0.8 million junior high school professionals for local economic construction. Therefore, Huining has also become the largest county in education in five provinces and regions in northwest China, and is known as the top county in the northwest college entrance examination and the hometown of doctors (Duan Zhaojun). This is the so-called "Huining phenomenon".

Third, behind the phenomenon.

I'm afraid it's hard for anyone to associate poverty-stricken counties with educational achievements, but people in Huining rely on their own "five bitter spirits" (leading hard work. Parents' efforts, social efforts and teachers' efforts; Students study hard) but they did it. The office building of Huining Education Bureau is a very humble building with poor lighting. The sofa in the office is also a shabby spring sofa, which is uneven. However, as soon as I arrived at Huining No.1 Middle School, the modern experimental building and teaching building stood in front of me. Looking at the laboratories and their instruments named after the world's top scientists, we sincerely admire the determination of Huining people to run education. Huining No.1 Middle School is a famous name in the local area. When it comes to it, people's first reaction is its amazing college entrance examination rate. In 2005, there were 1752 undergraduates in the college entrance examination in the county, which was 5 percentage points higher than that in the whole province. Among the top 200 undergraduates in the national college entrance examination, there are 10 in Huining (Wang Chaoxia). In the current difficult environment, the school has held up a pearl that surprises the world in this poor mountain nest. In Huining No.1 Middle School, there are generally more than two teachers in charge of answering questions at the same time in the self-study class. The head teacher will go home every night 10: 30 after checking the student dormitory. When answering the questionnaire, I was deeply impressed by the students' serious attitude and good organizational discipline. Compared with their simplicity, sureness and diligence, I feel a distance from them.

In Huining, farmers don't say "have a meal" after meeting, and don't ask each other how much money they earned this year, but ask which school their children have been admitted to. Elsewhere, money is more than money. Here in Huining, whoever has a doctor in the village and has the highest diploma is definitely the best. There is a popular couplet in this area, which is called "first-class loyalty and filial piety, second, studying and ploughing." No matter where you go in Huining, it is not difficult to find many touching stories about reading.

Huining County, as a national poverty-stricken county and an economic poverty-stricken county, has a strong team to promote education reform and generously provide education, trying to turn an economically poor county and a populous county into a talented county. Implementing the strategy of "rejuvenating the county through science and education" and giving priority to the development of education will make this economically poor county with an annual financial income of only over 20 million yuan become a well-known education investment county in northwest China. Through various channels such as county and township financial investment, implementation of educational projects, donations from cadres and workers, loans from financial departments, and social assistance. In the past four years, the investment in school construction was nearly10.20 billion yuan, reaching10.40 billion yuan in 2005 alone, accounting for 56% of the county's fiscal expenditure. The county completed the popularization of nine-year compulsory education in 2003, and in September 2003, the "two basics" reached the standard and passed the evaluation and acceptance by the Gansu provincial government. In order to reach the national standard of popularization for nine years, the towns and villages in Huining basically rely on loans to build school buildings and purchase teaching equipment. Many schools and grass-roots governments are burdened with heavy debts. The financial burden of governments at all levels is not small, but if there is a burden, they would rather bear it.

Walking into the arid and barren Huining County, the most beautiful buildings are in the school, which is the best public facility in the county or in the countryside. In 2005-06, investment was increased, and the area of dilapidated buildings was demolished, rebuilt, expanded and newly built schools reached more than 200,000 square meters, which improved the conditions for running schools, and the capacity and appearance of schools have undergone historic changes. In the past four years, the county's administrative institutions have not added 1 person, while the county has added 2342 teachers. Guarantee teachers' salaries, fully honor teachers' allowances and subsidies, give priority to solving the problems of rural teachers' difficulty in seeing a doctor and reimbursement, introduce preferential policies for introducing high-quality teachers, implement various teacher training programs, and optimize the teaching staff. Pay attention to the construction of teachers, and a large number of outstanding teachers such as Ran and Wang Xiwu have emerged. Invited 100 national super teachers to teach, and sent key teachers to study abroad. More than 20 unique excellent primary and secondary school teaching methods have been summarized and popularized, and the education level has been continuously improved.

In view of the good performance of Huining education, in April 2002, the first "Western Development Aid Project" benefited this land. Huining No.1 Middle School was lucky enough to be selected as the "Hongzhi Class" undertaking school of the high school of the western development aid project. It is understood that as the students in Hongzhi class are students from particularly difficult families, some of these students admitted to key universities will continue to enjoy the aid of the "Western Development Assistance Project", with an annual subsidy of 5,000 yuan, and the university will also reduce most tuition fees as appropriate to ensure that students from these poor families can successfully complete their college studies. There are 50 poor students from Huining, Dingxi and Longnan in Gansu Province in the first Hongzhi class of Huining No.1 Middle School. In the college entrance examination in 2005, among the students enrolled in this Hongzhi class, 44 students exceeded the key admission line of the local college entrance examination in Gansu Province, and the average total score of the whole class was as high as 604 points, which was 46 points higher than the key admission line of this province. The key online rate of the college entrance examination score of this class is 88%, and the online rate of undergraduate course is 100% (Wang Zhiheng).

In contrast, as Zou Lan pointed out, there are two counties in Gansu, both of which are famous for their education recently. One is Weiyuan County, recently known to the world by the leaders of the county party committee. Li Zhuan, deputy secretary of the county party committee, wrote an investigation report on the situation of substitute teachers in Weiyuan County, describing the living conditions of private teachers. More than 600 rural substitute teachers only get salaries ranging from 40 yuan to 80 yuan every month, of which 70% get 40 yuan every month, and some teachers' meager salaries remain unchanged for 20 years. The poverty line stipulated by the United Nations is that the living expenses per person per day is less than $65,438 +0. Even if the income is calculated by 80 yuan, it is only $ 10, and the daily income is $0.3. The other is Huining County, which is famous for joining forces with the Red Army in the Long March. The government and people in Huining are famous for respecting teachers and attaching importance to education, and teachers are generally paid well. There are 25 teachers in a multi-center primary school, and the average salary is 900 yuan per month, which is more than 9 times higher than the annual per capita income of local farmers. Both Gansu Province and the adjacent Dingxi, one in the southwest and the other in the northeast, are poverty-stricken counties. However, the gap in academic qualifications is like a cloud of mud, which is puzzling, but the fact is so ruthless.

As the Tian Ji horse racing reveals, extraordinary things in the world must have extraordinary achievements! Using this observation and investigation, we know that in the process of the formation of Huining phenomenon, in addition to some internal leading factors listed above, such as the influence of the historical tradition of worshipping and attaching importance to education since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the hardships paid by teachers and students in the face of the harsh loess plateau environment, the local government's strategy of giving priority to the development of education and daring to allocate funds, we also found a particularly important and interesting external prompting factor, that is, many "reactionary academic authorities" from universities and scientific research institutions all over the country in some movements after liberation. Is to let them all go to the front line of teaching The graceful locust trees that can be seen in Huining No.1 Middle School now are just those "right-wing" teachers who take their students to get water from the Zuli River in the distance for farming. As President Xi introduced us, it was they who provided the most precious, scarce and rare support for the education in Huining at that time, which each of their descendants will never forget. It is not difficult to imagine how wise and advanced the decision made by Huining leaders at that time, but how great the risk was!

Fourth, the anti-poverty effect

There is an old saying in China that "three generations without reading is better than a nest of mice", which has been fully reflected and naturally exposed here. Under the existing constraints, the solution of Huining's economic operation and social development depends on: "spend tomorrow's money to run today's education." I asked several colleagues in Huining why we attach so much importance to education. The answer they gave is simple: going to school is the only way out for the children of farmers in the Loess Plateau, and only reading is their truly fundamental and effective way out! If you go out to school and find a better job outside, the pressure on the barren land on the Loess Plateau will be less, and a family may be lifted out of poverty. Part of this lucky person's income will be transferred home. Otherwise, returning candidates will add more population pressure to the Loess Plateau, and urban graduates without special skills will not be able to enter school, which will also bring greater pressure to local employment. The purpose of developing education to export talents is to get rid of poverty, that is, to reduce local employment and land pressure. Excellent understanding leads to excellent results, and a lovely person is a person who will have peace in the world.

At first, we often thought that westerners were backward in thinking. However, the locals in Huining here make outsiders feel quite ashamed and even very surprised. I didn't expect that the education and training concept they proposed and advocated was: "Cultivate Huining people in China, Huining people in the world, and Huining people who go out." Obviously, as Gao, the white-haired director of Huining Education Bureau, introduced at this Lanzhou University and Huining Education Forum, "The more our students go out, the more hopeful they will be. Facts have proved that after so many years, our county has sent out more than 40 thousand students scattered all over the country, and now we see the benefits. Now they send back at least 1 billion yuan of direct funds to their parents, brothers and sisters, villagers and neighbors in Huining every year, and bring a lot of indirect returns such as technical information, employment information and service projects. These undoubtedly promoted the local economic development and social prosperity in Huining. "

It can be seen that Huining people have a wise, open, forward-looking and far-reaching understanding and view on the topic of "those with bachelor degree or above come back directly to serve the construction of their hometown".

We know that since economics studies the maximization of interests and well-being under the existing constraints, as an economic researcher, we should not and cannot ignore the non-economic factors in the study of western development-sometimes we can't even say that the non-economic factors here will play a vital role that cannot be achieved in the study of eastern economic development, and education is undoubtedly an important non-economic factor in its economic development. In fact, the above gives an excellent case of economic development in western China, especially anti-poverty. Huining's experience provides objective and concrete enlightenment for our academic research and practical application.

However, whether it can be popularized and how to expand close to the ground in the process of western development deserves further serious consideration. If we don't do it well, which violates Hayek's "spontaneous evolution" and "order of human cooperation and expansion", it will bring a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, it still provides a rather dynamic problem-as the above comparison reveals, just like Weiyuan, if we don't pay attention to the investment, accumulation and development of education, there is no way out of the quagmire of poverty and weakness. Undoubtedly, with the strategy of giving priority to education and a series of measures, Huining has stepped out of the "deadlock cycle" of the development of poor and backward areas in the west.

As a solution to the problems in the economic development and social operation of the backward areas in the west (especially the cold and arid loess plateau in the northwest), and as a microscopic consideration in the overall process of China under globalization, Huining phenomenon has undoubtedly brought us an empirical case and the enlightenment of its highlights, and let us see the struggle in despair and the hope of barren land. At the same time, we are waiting for further observation, understanding, analysis and exploration.