China's People's University and the Tibet Financial School recently launched an internet school in Tibet, as an important driving force to promote education in Tibet.

As part of efforts to develop China's Western Regions, distance-learning plays an important role in promoting education, and economic and social development in China's western regions.

Song Licheng, deputy director of the Internet School affiliated to China's People's University explains how the programme works in practice.

Song Licheng says, based in the computer classroom at Tibet Financial School, over 100 students are enrolled to study specifically through the internet. People's University provides multimedia teaching, which enables the students to see the teachers' teaching and if they have any questions, discussions or chats on the internet between students and teachers are arranged every week.

Song Licheng says the class is mainly aimed at adults and the courses are all vocational -- practical subjects relating to their work. Thus the teaching level is equivalent or even higher than that given to the full time students, especially in relation to their thesis because they have practical experience.

Song Licheng says with rich experience in adult education and three years of internet education, he's confident that it's a way to keep Tibet's education in line with the national advanced educational standards.

Song Licheng says to ensure every students achieve good results, the university also sends teachers to Tibet to provide additional guidance to students who have problems.

Tibet Autonomous Region has set itself a challenging target -- to popularize the 9 year compulsory education by 2010 and eliminate illiteracy.

It's believed that distance learning over the internet will play an important role in making education to meet the demands of economic and social development in Tibet.

(CRI online 10/16/2001)