Editorials

Funding for learning

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-23 08:01

China's education sector is pinning its hopes on a few big-ticket reforms.

Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed that the government will increase financing in education to 4 percent of the nation's GDP by 2012.

It is one of the missions the nation's medium and long-term national educational reform and development plan (2010-2020) vows to accomplish.

The nation's education budget accounted for 3.59 percent of its GDP in 2009, compared with the world's average of 4.5 percent. The education budget for next year is estimated to account for 4.4 percent of the nation's GDP.

The increase is important for China's education and for creating a learning society for sustained and inclusive growth.

Vastly expanding the opportunities for education is a must for the nation to reap the demographic dividend in full measure. More importantly, the country needs to produce quality talent, given that college graduates account for only 7.2 percent of our workforce.

From 2006 through 2010 China realized its plan to offer free nine-year compulsory education for urban and rural children. Also the nation's public finance began covering the compulsory education for 160 million rural children.

But merely spending money will not ensure improvements. We need to raise the efficacy of public spending on education.

Many schools - high schools in particular - are short of classrooms. Teaching facilities at a large number of schools are not up to the national standard.

The government should also provide more public education resources to rural, impoverished and ethnic areas. This would narrow the gap between urban and rural areas and ensure that fairer access to quality education for all children would be possible.

The educational reform and development plan does not allow students to be deprived of education because of their family's financial problems.

The government has made the development of education, ranging from pre-school classes to vocational training in rural areas, a priority in the nation's overall development programs.

While the government must step up its allocations to education, there is enormous scope to supplement the sector with private funds.

However, the national educational reform and development plan for this decade stipulates that enhancing the quality of education is the core mission of the reform. China cannot hold back serious educational reform any longer.

For local governments, it pays to invest in economic projects rather than education, they would regard 4 percent of GDP for education a too high goal. However, the government can afford this. And it must do so.

It has a direct bearing on the sustainability of the national economy and the nation's competitiveness in science and technology.

China Daily

(China Daily 03/23/2011 page8)