Disappearing classrooms (2)

The vast disappearance of rural schools was triggered by a government strategy in 2000 to remove village schools and consolidate education resources in counties and townships.

Some 229,400 primary schools, 111,000 teaching stations and 10,600 secondary schools have been abandoned over the past 10 years. These shocking figures include half the country's rural primary schools, 60 percent of the teaching stations and over one quarter of the secondary schools.

At the same time, the number of students in the countryside has been decreasing. Over a third of the primary school students and over a quarter of secondary school students have left.

"Some of them have dropped out of schools altogether but a majority of them now receive their education in townships," said Yang Dongping, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

The missing heart of the village

Wang said this school used to be a crucial part of the social dynamics of the village. Whenever there was a wedding or a funeral, the teachers were invited. They were highly respected.

The dynamics have quietly changed. Many have left, those who are left often just spend their days gambling. Children have been left behind by their parents year after year. The influx of migrants into cities has hollowed out much of the countryside.