Compulsory education refers to the universal compulsory education system implemented by the state for citizens, including primary schools and junior high schools. According to the Compulsory Education Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), compulsory education should be exempted from tuition and miscellaneous fees, and textbooks should be provided free of charge for students to use. This means that students do not need to pay teaching fees and buy textbooks in the process of receiving compulsory education.

Although tuition and textbooks can be provided free of charge, there are still other expenses in the process of compulsory education. On the one hand, students and parents need to bear the basic living expenses such as meals and accommodation. On the other hand, there are still some educational expenses that cannot be separated from the school, such as extracurricular tutoring, review materials and experimental materials. These expenses are usually borne by the family itself.

The government is also aware of the economic burden of compulsory education and has taken some measures to reduce the burden on families. At present, many local governments provide grants or educational assistance to students with financial difficulties to ensure that they can successfully complete compulsory education. In addition, the government also encourages social forces to participate in compulsory education, and supports students' study by setting up student aid funds and providing scholarships.

Educational burden and fair education of students with financial difficulties in families

Educational equity is one of the important principles of compulsory education, which requires every student to get equal educational opportunities and equal treatment. However, in the actual education process, students from poor families are faced with a heavy educational burden, which brings certain challenges to their equal access to quality education.

Students from poor families usually can't afford extra education expenses such as extra-curricular remedial classes and training courses. This makes them unable to obtain the same educational resources and learning opportunities as other students, resulting in unequal educational opportunities. In order to solve this problem, governments at all levels and social forces should increase assistance and funding for students with financial difficulties to ensure that they can get equal educational opportunities.