Recently, a scandal regarding the gender inequality of education and charity work in China went viral on Chinese Internet. UNICEF must step in to provide an alternative project to improve girls' education in China.

"The Spring Bud Project," a public welfare program to help girls complete high school and college in China, has been found to be fraudulent in regards to its target population. Out of the 1267 high school students the program sponsors, 453 of them are male. As stated in the mission of the Project, all recipients are intended to be girls. The project was created specifically by the China Children and Teenager's Fund (CCTF) to support gender equality in education. The project has now seemed to deviate from its initial goal. One of the boys supported by the project is listed as a "19-year-old boy with a dream to become a photographer." Many donors are saddened that their money is being misused. The response from CCTF claims that "we will continue to ensure that the majority of our funds go to girls, and the request for donations page will indicate clearly if the recipient will be a boy."

This response is unacceptable. The CCTF has not only violated the Charity Law of the People's Republic of China, but also because a project to support girls' education in China is needed more than ever. Prejudice against girls is deeply entrenched in rural China. Many families would remove girls from school - these girls would go into work to earn money to support their brothers' education. Other families simply do not believe that girls should be educated. When these girls grow up, they are quickly married off and repeat the poverty cycle. In 1989, 89% of the 4.8 million children who dropped out due to poverty are girls. In 2014, it is estimated that there are 30 million school dropouts in China. While more specific data are not available, it is clear that this issue is far from being resolved. Education is a universal human right. These dropout girls should have The Spring Bud Project to rely on, but the Project has betrayed them.

The news is now viral on Chinese internet. Many are saddened by the fact that gender inequality seems to permeate even charity work in China. Many are enraged that their money has been used for the wrong cause. The Chinese Internet is full of stories of professional women who has donated in hope to combat gender inequality - yet they fell victim to a charity system that is sexist at its core.

At this point, UNICEF must step in to offer an alternative option to support early and higher education of girls in China and encourage dropout girls to go back to school. UNICEF China has already worked extensively with improving and sponsoring education in China and has the experience, means, resources and infrastructure to do so.

We recommend that UNICEF:

1. Create a specific project in China to target the early and higher education of girls in need
2. On UNICEF China's donations page, add an option to specifically sponsor girls' education
3. Directly engage with China Children and Teenager's Fund on account of accountability

最近，网络曝出中国教育和慈善工作中的性别不平等的丑闻。介于此情况，联合国儿童基金会应该介入并提供的替代项目，以改善中国的女童教育。

“春蕾计划”是一项旨在帮助中国女童完成高中和大学学习的公益计划。在最近一批次资助的 1267 名高中生中，有 453 名为男生，甚至有“梦想成为摄影师的19岁大龄男童”。按该项目介绍中所述，所有接受者都应该是女童。该项目由中国儿童少年基金会在1989年于全国妇联领导下创建，为了“资助贫困地区失辍学女童继续学业，改善贫困地区办学条件”。中国儿童少年基金会的回应称：“春蕾计划在未来的执行中，将始终以女生作为资助对象，如确有需要资助男生的情况，将在筹款文案显著位置特别提示。”很明显，春蕾计划已经偏离了最初的目标。许多捐助者的钱被滥用了。 

此回应是不可接受的。 中国儿童少年基金会违反了《中华人民共和国慈善法》，而中国社会急切地需要支持女童教育的项目。在中国农村，重男轻女的偏见根深蒂固。许多家庭会让女童辍学并进入工作，以赚钱支持其兄弟的教育。有些家庭认为女童根本不应该读书。这些女孩长大后早早地结婚生子，重复地生活于贫穷之中。 1989年，由于贫困而辍学的480万儿童中，有89％是女童。 2014年，中国被估计有3000万辍学学生。教育是基本人权，这些辍学的女孩应该依靠于``春蕾计划''，但该计划已经背叛了他们。

该新闻现在在中国互联网上广为传播。许多人痛心于中国性别不平等的普遍性，甚至渗透到慈善工作中。许多人因善款被滥用而愤怒。许多中国人为了消除性别不平等和教育平等而选择了“春蕾计划”， 却成为了“春蕾计划”本身的性别歧视的受害者。

介于以上情况，联合国儿童基金会必须介入以提供支持中国女孩的早期和高等教育并鼓励辍学的女孩重返学校的独立项目。联合国儿童基金会驻华办事处在改善和赞助中国教育方面拥有丰富的经验和资源，在这样燃眉之急的关头应该介入援助。

我们建议联合国儿童基金会驻华办事处：

1. 在中国创建一个特定项目，支持贫困女童的早期和高等教育
2. 在联合国儿童基金会驻华办事处的捐款页面上，添加专门赞助女童教育的选项
3. 与中国儿童少年基金会由女童扶助需求问题交涉