China moves to make education fairer for all

China took a major move Wednesday to make its basic education fairer for all, as the State Council decided that government spending shall henceforth be the same for each rural student or migrant workers' child as their urban counterpart.

The move will cost central and local governments more than 15 billion yuan (about 2.35 billion U.S. dollars) over the next two years, according to estimates by experts.

A statement released after an executive meeting of the cabinet chaired by Premier Li Keqiang said China will set an unified benchmark for public funds per student in rural and urban areas starting in 2016.

All students covered by the compulsory eduction program will also have their tuition and textbook fees exempted from 2017, while the state will provide regular allowances for those from families with financial difficulties, it said.

The State Council statement did not include specific figures for the benchmark quota, the various fee waivers and the state allowance, although experts have hailed the move a big step forward in the equalization of rural and urban education.

Currently, students from different parts of China are entitled to varying amounts of education-linked public subsidies, taking into account the cost of living and wage levels, among others. In general terms, higher levels of public funds are channeled to urban areas. A nationwide unified benchmark will put an end to that disparity.

What's more significant is that privately-run schools shall receive the same level of funding from the government.

A large number of children who have migrated with their parents to cities are currently excluded from public schools and could only go to private schools, which are often poorly-funded.

The new policy will ensure that these schools will now receive the same level of per-student government funding.