ACCESS TO FORMAL EDUCATION IN THE XINJIANG UIGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION OF CHINA 1949-1987 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR ETHNIC GROUPS
by
Hakima Arshidin
Thesis Presented in Fulfilment of the Regulations of the University
of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
University of London Institute of Education
May 1991 Abstract
This thesis describes, analyses, and explains the problems of equality of access to, and provision of formal education, particularly higher education, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China between 1949 and 1987. It contrasts the central governmenes constitutional assurances of equality in education for all ethnic groups, both the non-Han indigenous majority and the rapidly increasing immigrant Han-Chinese minority, with the reality of their implementation. This contrast and the inequalities in education resulting from it constitute the central theme of the thesis.
The concepts of equality and inequality, ethnicity, assimilation and cultural diversity in education are first considered. The question as to where the root of the problem of access to higher education lies, whether in the outcome of higher education admission practices, or in the shortage of supply from lower down the system, is then examined closely. The question is addressed through the use of indicators of equal access to education; equal provision of educational facilities; equal prospects of survival; and success in progression from one level to another. These in turn are analyzed in terms of several dimensions including culture, religion, demography and geography.
iii The investigative method followed is essentially a historical analysis of statistical data, supplemented by an analysis of policy documents, political statements, and literature, and informal interviews.
The findings of the thesis are that, in spite of a nationally declared policy of equal access to education for all its ethnic groups, Xinjiang belies its official title of being Uighur and autonomous; and that attempts at assimilation to the Han through local language reforms, a nation-wide unified curriculum, political education, and the imposition of Standard Chinese have been to the detriment of the non-Han and have caused grave inequalities. The thesis concludes with suggestions on how these inequalities can be reduced and the interests and identities of the non-Han protected.
iv Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor A. Little, for her insistence on sound scholarship, constructive suggestions, and responsible attitude in her supervision of the research from its beginning to the end.
My thanks go also to my two English teachers, Mr. D. Hall and Mr. J. Dwyer, whose help has not only contributed to this thesis but also improved my English language skills for future work; as well as to my advisor, Mr. J. Cameron,
who helped me by copy-editing this thesis at its final stage.
I am most grateful to the following: Mr. & Mrs Norman E. Cima of California who generously and constantly supported me financially and morally. In particular, they sponsored my fieldwork in China, and looked after me during my tour of study in the United States of America. Their parental concern will be remembered all my life; and the Overseas
Student Advisor, secretaries, administrators and other staff members of DICE for the kindness and friendship they offered me during my stay in the U.K.
The librarians of the Institute of Education, the Senate House, the School of Oriental and African Studies, the
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, the India Office
Library and Records, University College of London
v University, the London School of Economics, UNESCO in Paris, the International Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, Stanford University, the Hoover Institute in Stanford, the California State University at Berkeley, the California State University at Northridge in Los Angeles, Washington University in Seattle, Minnesota University in Minneapolis, and UNESCO in New York, which I visited, are deserving of my gratitude and are remembered for their support and co-operation.
In addition I am greatly indebted to my honourable brother, Director General Dr A.A. Mughram, for his generous financial aid with my tuition fees over three semesters; to the Great Britain-China Educational Trust and ORS (Overseas Research Student - ORS Awards Scheme) Committee which awarded me the sums of j1,500 and 42,265 to subsidise the tuition fees; to the Xinjiang University and Xinjiang Education Commission which encouraged me to study in the United Kingdom. Each paid me successively one year's stipend and the basic tuition fees over the two years of my work.
Above all, I want to thank my husband, Tunyaz Mansor, and my sons, Dilshat Tunyaz, Parhat Tunyaz and Nijat Tunyaz, who have given me every support and encouragement to embark on, and complete, this research. Without their understanding and strong backing this work could never have been accomplished.
vi CONTENTS Page
Location of Xinjiang in the People's Republic of China xii Map of Xinjiang xui An Explanatory Note on Language Variations and
Educational Terminology xiv List of Tables and Figures xviii
Introduction 1 Scope of the Thesis 1 Background 11 1. Geography 12 a. Location 12 b. Climate 13 c. Landscape 14
d. Administrative Areas 15 2. Population 16 3. Distribution of Ethnic Groups 19 4. The People of Xinjiang 20
5. Natural Resources 29
6. Economy 31
7. Living Standards 34
8. Education, Science and Culture 35 9. Summary 45
vii Chapter One: Conceptual Issues 47 1. Dialectical Materialism 47 2. Concepts of Equity and Equality 49 3. Multi-Ethnic Education in Xinjiang and
Equality 57 4. Minority Education 58 5. Ethnicity and Ethnic Groups 59 6. Minority and Majority 63 7. Assimilation 64 8. Multicultural Education/Multiculturalism
and Bilingualism 67 9. Multicultural Terminology in China 70 10. Contemporary Trends in Muslim Education 72 11. Changing Policies 76 12. Summary 85
Chapter Two: Access to Higher Education 89 General Picture of Tertiary Education 92
1. Background 92 2. Development 94
Changes in Intake and Changing Admission Practices 99 3. Historical Roots of Selective Admission 99
4. More Recent Principles and Practices 100 5. The Present Process of Selective Admission 104 6. The Progression from Senior Middle to
Tertiary Institutions 109 7. About `Special Treatment' for National
Minorities in Selective Admission 114
viii 8. Problems of the Present Selective System 120 9. Changes in the Enrolment of Tertiary Institutions 130 10. Summary 138
Chapter Three: Provision of Higher Education 139 1. Medium of Instruction 139 2. Duration of Tertiary Education 142 3. Curricula 144 Disparities in Expansion 146 4. The Imbalance Between Han and Non-Han in Institutions 146 5. Disparity in the Expansion of Tertiary Staff 146 6. Reasons for Staff Disparities 154 7. The Continuous Importation of Personnel 159 8. The Alleged Disloyalty of the Non-Han 161 9. Summary 165
Chapter Four: Primary Education 167 1. Changes in Intake 167 2. Duration of Primary Schooling 174 3. Curricula 177 4. Medium of Instruction 179 5. Expansion and Inequality 188 6. Inequality in Literacy 202 7. Reasons for Inequality in Literacy and Enrolments 205
ix a) The Economic Aspect 205 b) Geography 206 c) The Customary Belief 211 d) Language 211 8. Inequality in Quality 212 9. Summary 218