The Guohua Jinian Middle School of Shunde, the first fee free private school in the country, opened it doors on October 6 in Shunde, Guangdong Province. Enterprisers from Shunde City contributed over 30 million yuan (US$3.62 million) to help set up the school.

An article entitled "Changing Your Fate with Knowledge" expresses the founder's purpose for building the school, with the message also engraved on a stone tablet on the school grounds.

"I can not bear to see promising young people hindered by poverty . . . knowledge can change a person's fate."

"The purpose of setting up the school is to help young people obtain knowledge, acquire ethics and achieve a high moral character . . . these people will then be able to dedicate themselves to a lifetime of helping society."

The school accepts 200 gifted poor students from across the country each year. Some 86 students from 10 provinces including Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou are now studying there. The school not only provides students with a free high middle school education, but also will cover all of their expenses while perusing their schooling in universities.

The school has advanced equipment and facilities. In addition to comprehensive classrooms, dormitories, a playground, a music room, and a physical health center, every student is also supplied with a liquid crystal display computer.

(china.org.cn by Feng Yikun, October 16, 2002)