China's ethnic region Xinjiang extends free education by three years
24/11/2008 17:26
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to provide free
education for high school students, extending the current nine-year free
compulsory education period by three years.
The change will start "as soon as
possible" in Hotan, Kashgar and Kizilsu Kirgiz, all in the south of Xinjiang,
and expand to other areas, according to information from a meeting of the
Xinjiang committee of the Communist Party of China yesterday.
Only 56 percent
of Xinjiang's junior high school graduates go to high school, below the national
level of 80.5 percent. The figure for Hotan, Kashgar and Kizilsu Kirgiz is a
mere 23 percent.
Xinjiang also plans to provide free education for students
in normal universities and increase subsidies for poor college students.
The
central government said in March, during the annual legislative session, that
the central budget for education this year would increase from last year's 107.6
billion yuan (US$15.7 billion) to 156.2 billion yuan, and local governments
would increase their spending.
In September, urban primary and junior high
school students joined their rural counterparts in the nine-year free education
plan. However, students must still pay to go to high schools and
colleges.
Xinhua
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