University to set up school in quake-hit Beichuan

By Yan Zhen  |   2008-6-12  |     ONLINE EDITION

SHANGHAI Jiao Tong University's Antai college of Economics and Management, the country's oldest business school, will set up a management school in earthquake-stricken Beichuan in Sichuan Province.

The new school, which will be named after "Antai," is a polytechnic that prepares middle school graduates for management jobs.

The college will provide 500,000 yuan (US$71,429), to build the new school.

Antai will also be actively involved in setting the curriculum, faculty recruitment and faculty training. Both Beichuan-native teachers and students will be arranged to come to study in Shanghai every year, Antai officials said.

Meanwhile, Jiao Tong also teamed up with other top universities to lend a hand to the development of universities in western China.

Antai will be responsible of supporting four universities: Sichuan University, Chongqing University, Southwest Jiao Tong University and Chengdu University of Science and Technology.

"We do that out of a business school's social responsibility," said Wang Fanghua, Antai's dean, adding that the school insisted in offering some substantial aid to disaster victims rather than just a general donation.

The news came after Antai held a ceremony to mark its 90th anniversary yesterday. Two Beichuan officials attended a ceremony today.