BEIJING: Chinese children will study 'ethnic unity' from primary school, the Education Ministry said at the end of an Olympic year marred by violent riots in Tibet and unrest in the north-western Muslim region of Xinjiang.
Classes will begin in third grade and will teach pupils that China's 56 ethnic groups make up 'one big family', according to guidelines seen yesterday on the ministry's website.
Older pupils will learn about the importance of 'protecting national sovereignty', while high school students will study what the guidelines said were the advantages of the Communist Party's policies on ethnic groups as compared with those of other multi-ethnic countries.
Though courses on China's ethnic groups have long been a part of the country's curriculum, the guidelines standardise the classes.
Children from elementary and middle schools will receive 10 to 12 classroom hours of instruction on ethnic harmony every year, while high school students will receive eight to 14 hours.
China has 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, with the dominant Han Chinese making up more than 90 per cent of the population.
Most minorities either have small populations or have largely been assimilated.
But there are still areas where widespread resentment among non-Han groups - who fear their culture, religion and language are threatened by Beijing's rule - flares up into occasional violence.
In March, deadly riots broke out in Tibet, which were followed by a harsh crackdown and a boost in foreign interest in the demands of exiles for greater autonomy or even independence.
China's Constitution guarantees religious freedom and equal treatment for all minorities. But Tibetans and Uighurs regularly complain that their worship is restricted, and that they are discriminated against in everything from staying at hotels to employment.
REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
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