ZJU joined “Spring Rain” Initiative for higher school seniors in need

Poverty is expected to be eliminated in 2020, but this unexpected COVID-19 poses a new challenge to this tough battle. To alleviate poverty, immense attention should be attached to education. On March 12, six universities, including Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University and Xi’an Jiaotong University, jointly launched the “Spring Rain” Initiative in an effort to prepare high school seniors for the Gaokao in times of adversity so as to fulfill their dream of attending college.  

As a proverb goes, it takes three generations to make a gentleman. The “Spring Rain” Initiative embodies not only good timing but also a promising vision. The six universities will bring into full play their cutting-edge educational resources and assist high school seniors in impoverished areas where the National Special Program—a special university enrollment program—is implemented in terms of academic performance, policy counseling and hardware support.

The “Spring Rain” Initiative aims at inspiring these students to strive for their dream and giving them a boost. It includes three specific aspects as follows.

- The Academic Performance Plan

The six universities will offer peer-learning schemes in which excellent volunteer university students help these senior high school students academically, including offering customized tutorials, making academic plans and organizing Q&A sessions. Tutorials will cover 9 subjects: Chinese, math, English, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and politics.

- The Policy Counseling Plan

Once the National Special Program is issued, the admissions offices from the six universities will offer online policy-related counseling in the hope of removing students’ possible misunderstandings of relevant policies and offering their guidance on how to select their dream universities.  

- The Hardware Support Plan

If any high school seniors in these areas is unable to get involved in online learning due to financial difficulties, the six universities will try every means to help them bridge the digital “yawning gap” so that they can know about relevant policies and obtain required academic advice, thereby achieving their ultimate dream of hailing from a university.