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Beijing (pte038/05.06.2003/14:38) - The deadly lung disease SARS has had an unexpected side effect in China: Online learning is booming among pupils and students in Beijing. Tele-courses and online classes have widely replaced regular teaching in China's capital.
China's online school Jinghua Education http://www.jinghua.net has invested 33,000 dollars to upgrade its broadband servers. Since 18 April, Jinghua Education has been offering all grammar school students free audio courses. The classes are held by renowned Beijing teachers, and will continue until 30 June.
The Beijing board of education is also working together with eight other large network schools to facilitate home learning for their pupils. Over 230 elementary and grammar school teachers are taking turns answering questions online. One grammar school belonging to the University of Beijing has even signed a partnership with a communications firm to help cut online costs for pupils.
"The outbreak of SARS has greatly changed the standard curriculum. At the moment online courses are the safest and most effective way to learn," said Kang Jian, director of a grammar school which has invested over 34,000 dollars in technical support. According to Liang Wie, director of the Beijing Research Centre for Elementary Education, 500,000 of Beijing's 1.7 million elementary and grammar school pupils have access to online learning, with teachers answering questions on 13 subjects. Over a million pupils in Beijing have access to courses broadcast via television or radio.
For China's kids the new situation offers an additional bonus: parents who used to hesitate to buy their children computers for fear they would only use them to play video games are being forced to capitulate. (newsfox-special SARS)
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