China’s compulsory education system has been rapidly implemented in recent years,   and attendance rates among school-age girls has reached 99.07% . Dropout rates of primary students has reduced from 1.49% in 1995, and to0.93% in 2000. Drop-out rates among school girls, however, still remains higher than that of boys, comprising almost 70 per cent of total dropouts. Family financial difficulties is the primary cause of school aged girls dropping out. In order to help them, the Children’s Foundation of China set up a “School Girl Scholarship Program” as early as 1989, which established a number of classes for school girls in poor regions. The Spring Bud Plan has made a truly significant contribution in bringing girl dropouts back into the school system. Funds raised under this program are mainly spent on setting up special classes in local schools to support girl drop-outs to primary school graduation who are from poor areas with average annual per capita incomes <500 RMB yuan. Where conditions permit, poor schoolgirls are sponsored as well through secondary schooling.  The amount required to complete elementary education is 400 RMB /student /year, 600 RMB/student /year for junior high school, and 800 RMB for senior high school.

Madame Chen Muhua, Honorary President of ACWF,  together with her family, sponsored  12 schoolgirls in a poor region in Shaanxi Province. 

Since its inception, “the Spring Bud Plan” has received enthusiastic support from friends abroad and at home. The program has received a total of RMB220 million in donations, which has provided classes for the schoolgirls in 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. By the end of 2000,  1,050,000 schoolgirls had received financial support through this program.