According to the spirit of the relevant documents jointly issued by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, the Provincial Department of Finance, the Provincial Audit Office and the Provincial Supervision Office, free compulsory education will be fully implemented in cities and towns throughout the province from the spring semester of 2008.
The free target is: students in compulsory education in ordinary primary and secondary schools (including private schools) with non-agricultural household registration in this province. In accordance with the principle of entering the school nearby, you can enjoy free compulsory education conditions when you enter the school where you are registered. Students who move across counties with their parents can be included in the scope of free compulsory education in the inflow area, and their degrees can be confirmed according to the admission conditions and free scope of the inflow area. But repeat students are not free.
Free items include: tuition and fees and textbook fees. By the financial departments at all levels, according to the different proportions and standards stipulated in the province, subsidies are given to exempt tuition and miscellaneous fees and textbook fees. Among them, the subsidy standard for tuition and miscellaneous fees is: 326 yuan per student in primary school and 466 yuan per student in junior high school. The subsidy standards for exempting textbook fees are: per primary school student 180 yuan, and per junior high school student 180 yuan. Including Shantou, northern Guangdong 14 prefecture-level cities and enping city, the funds needed to provide textbook fees free of charge are fully subsidized by the provincial finance.
In addition to tuition and fees and textbook fees, boarding students' accommodation fees and other expenses will continue to be implemented according to the existing regulations.
According to the preliminary statistics of Shantou Education Bureau, there are about 1 10,000 schools in our city, including junior high schools and primary schools, among which nearly 1 10,000 students meet the policy requirements.
Hu Dong, deputy director of the Municipal Education Bureau, said in an interview yesterday that the realization of free and compulsory education in a complete sense is an important way to ensure the most basic educational equity and balance, and is of far-reaching significance to the development of local education. It is imperative to expand free compulsory education from rural areas to cities and towns. At present, the education authorities at all levels and all kinds of schools in the city are making every effort to ensure that the spring semester starts as scheduled and that every eligible registered student can go to school free of charge.
Hu Dong said that since the implementation of free compulsory education in rural areas in autumn of 2006, our city has accumulated two years of work experience and foundation, and achieved initial results. According to statistics, in the past two years, the city's financial departments at all levels have invested a total of more than 360 million yuan in rural free compulsory education, benefiting about 750,000 rural students in the compulsory education stage. Up to now, the gross enrollment rate of junior high schools in the city has reached 102%, the consolidation rate of primary school students has reached 100%, and the consolidation rate of junior high schools in three years has reached 87%. Poor rural students have realized their dream of being educated.
At present, the education departments at all levels and all kinds of schools in the city are working hard to overcome difficulties and actively make preparations before the start of school to ensure the start of school on time. According to reports, the specific operating rules of a series of issues, including "how to enjoy compulsory education for students in private schools" and "how to enjoy compulsory education for students across regions and school districts", will be studied and formulated separately.