The central and local governments will establish a fund to provide financial aid to senior high school students who qualify for it, according to a document issued recently by the ministries of education and finance.
Starting this autumn, selected students can receive financial aid of up to 1,500 yuan, or some US$220, a year on average. Qualified senior high school students also will be exempted from paying tuition.
Commenting on the move, an editorial in the English language newspaper, China Daily says state financial aid program is the latest step towards education equality following the removal of school sundry fees for primary and middle school students in rural areas three years ago.
If successfully implemented, the financial aid program will enable a large number of poverty-stricken middle schools graduates to continue their education.
The paper states that 10 percent of senior high school students who live in the eastern coastal region will receive financial aid. Twenty percent of students in the relatively underdeveloped central region and 30 percent who live in the country's least developed western region also will receive financial assistance.
This means that local governments in the poorest regions in the western part of China will have to contribute the most to the program. The editorial therefore believes that most of the financial aid from the central government should be directed to the country's least developed regions where contributions to the program will place additional financial burdens on local governments. It also calls for a sound supervisory system to be put in place to ensure that the money reaches students.
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