Parents of graduates of Mangbu Secondary School said they are grateful to the school for helping their children realize their dreams of going to university and seeing the wider world.
Yang Zhaoquan, father of Yang Jie, a 2019 Mangbu graduate, said his daughter enrolled at Yunnan University for undergraduate studies the same year. She will attend the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for postgraduate studies this fall.
Yang worked in Mangbu from 2010 to 2016, and he witnessed the school's transformation.
"Being a township school, it is meant for the children of farmers and those from underprivileged backgrounds, and it has enabled such children to receive a quality education not far from their homes," he said.
Yang said his daughter did not perform well in the high school entrance exam, but she did well in the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, thanks to the school and its dedicated teachers.
She also made progress in sports, music and art, which made her popular, he said.
The success of the school benefits local farmers most because they save money by sending their children to a good educational facility near their homes, he said.
Thanks to government policies, the school offers subsidies to all students, along with generous scholarships for those who display good academic performance, he said.
Yang noted that everyone in Mangbu feels proud of the school.
Having learned from Mangbu's example, other schools in the county have made progress in terms of performance, and the county is now renowned for its education, Yang added.
Xiang Enjun runs a small computer shop in the town, while his wife is a farmer.
He said his daughter graduated from the school in 2018, and his older son graduated in 2021. His younger boy is still at the school.
His daughter is now an undergraduate at Kunming Medical University, while his older son studies at Yanbian University in Jilin province.
"I am extremely grateful to the school. Without it, our family would not have the financial means to support three children so they could receive a good education," he said.
Both his daughter and his older son were average in class when they entered the high school, but thanks to the help of the good teachers they were admitted to good universities, he said.
The students' parents feel a sense of reassurance as they know that the teachers are taking good care of their children, he said.
Moreover, the children have an excellent learning environment, so they are all very grateful to the school, he said.
In addition, the school's development and good reputation have seen the town witness great progress in sectors such as transportation, catering and logistics. That has resulted in higher incomes for local people, he said.
"We hope the school's good momentum will continue," he added. "It not only sets an example to other schools in the county, but is also a blessing for residents."
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