Peking University, Beijing, December 22, 2009: A seminar themed “Financial Reforms of China’s Compulsory Education: the Effects and the Future” was successfully held by the Educational Finances Research Center in Peking University from December 11th to 12th, 2009. This seminar was held in order to evaluate the effects of the financial reforms of China’s compulsory education, to discuss new issues emerging in the reform process and to push reforms to a new level.
More than fifty scholars, experts, policy makers and practitioners in the field from the USA, Hong Kong and the mainland participated in the seminar, discussing the following six issues: the effects of the financial reforms of the compulsory education; the reforms of the compulsory education finance and the completion of the public finance systems; the financial reforms and households’ education fees; the financial reforms, mechanisms for incentives creation and teachers’ allocation; the education of the migrant children; issues on professional education and training, which are closely linked to the compulsory education.
Mr. Hu Chengyu, Director of the Department of Education, Science and Culture of Ministry of Finance addressed the meeting. He pointed out that compulsory education in China had stepped to a critical transitional stage, on which the rapid development of the economic and social development had put forward new demands for education. How to perform compulsory education finance reform in rural areas, how to promote the spatial balance of the education resource allocation, how to ensure the education opportunity for the migrant population and how to improve financial management of the education resources were all questions he believed were worth thinking about.
Professor Wang Rong from PKU Educational Finances Research Center reflected upon the compulsory education financial policies of the central government from 1996 to 2005, analyzing the policy-making process of “the reforms of the compulsory education financial security systems”. He suggested that costs and revenues should be considered separately from the standpoints of the central government, local governments and the people.
As to the issues on impact evaluation of the compulsory education finance reforms, Professor Liu Ming from PKU, Doctor Shi Xinzheng from Tsinghua University, Doctor Han Li from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology shared their empirical study results. Professor Zhong Xiaomin and Doctor Xue Haiping also analyzed the efficiency and equity issue of the primary and middle school education resources allocation.
Scholars also showed great interest in the migrant children’s education. Professor Duan Chengrong from Renmin University introduced and analyzed the updated conditions of the rural migrant children in urban China. Professor Li Minghua from the East China Normal University shared his thoughts on how to make it possible that rural migrants could have the same compulsory education accessibility as in cities. Professor Fan Yuanwei from Shanghai University of Science and Technology introduced the institutional innovation of the transformation of the informal private school to formal public schools for migrant children, analyzing the effects and concluded the lessons that could be learnt. Some other scholars focused on the academic performance of the migrant children and the factors affected it.
The two-day seminar went on successfully, providing a platform for scholars and policy makers to communicate and learn from each other.
Edited by: Connie Chang
