New health scheme has kids’ myopia in its sights

CHINA will soon roll out a new scheme to curb the rise in nearsightedness — or myopia — among children and teenagers for the sake of their health and the nation’s future.

Authorities have sought public opinions on the scheme, which is jointly drafted by the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission.

High incidence of myopia among students, which affects more and more children at a younger age and undermines their health, is a major problem concerning the future of the country and the Chinese nation, President Xi Jinping commented after reading a recent media report on the problem.

The plan aims to keep the myopia rate among 6-year-olds at around 3 percent by 2030, with the incidence among primary school kids to drop below 38 percent, and the rate among middle and high school students to fall below 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

About 36.5 percent of fourth graders and 65.3 percent of eighth graders have poor eyesight, according to a ministry report released last month.

Another report by a health research institution under Peking University showed more than 70 percent of high school and college students were nearsighted, warning China may be short of labor with qualified eyesight in sectors like aerospace, sophisticated manufacturing and the military in the future if the situation worsens.

Increased school workloads and heavier use of electronic devices are regarded as major reasons leading to the worsening nearsightedness.

According to the ministry report, 14.7 percent of fourth-grade students and 19.2 percent of eighthgrade students on average spend over an hour everyday doing maths homework, while 43.8 percent of the fourth graders and 23.4 percent of the eighth graders take extra maths training outside classes.

The scheme urges children to spend more time outdoors and asks schools not to give written assignments to first and second graders.

Jiao Yahui, an official of the health commission, said children and parents need to raise their awareness about kids’ eyesight problems.

The scheme also introduces indicators to assess the performance of local governments on their measures to control children’s myopia.