China lags in scientific literacy

BEIJING, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- China is 20 years behind developed countries when it comes to scientific literacy but is gaining, a survey published Sunday indicates.

The China Association for Science and Technology said only 3.27 percent of Chinese have basic scientific literacy, Xinhua reported. That is up sharply from 1.6 percent in 2005 and 2.25 percent in 2007, said Ren Fujun, director of the China Research Institute for Science Popularization, which conducted the survey.

Yang Wenzhi, a science popularization director with the association, said the low literacy level stems from the country's slow development prior to the 1980s and poor quality education in the past.

"We are focused on catching up with the developed countries, and the gap is narrowing," Yang said.

Among rural Chinese, the survey shows, scientific literacy has grown from 0.72 percent to 1.51 percent, while for urban residents the rate has increased from 2.37 percent to 4.79 percent over the same period.

The national survey queried more than 68,000 people between November 2009 and May of this year.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/11/26/China-lags-in-scientific-literacy/UPI-35141290752072/.