Chinese State Council Information Office has held a press conference on the progress of the country’s education reform over the past two years.
Minister of Education, Yuan Guiren, outlined some of the achievements.
Yuan Guiren, Chinese Minister of Education, said, "In the past two years, we have made a great progress in education reform. As Governments at all levels highly value educational development, a series of promotion policies have been carried out. 31 provinces and regions, have published education plans. The budget for this year’s education fund has reached 2.2 trillion yuan. We have focused on compulsory, vocational and higher education, aiming to improve quality and accessibility of various types of education."
The drafting of education reforms began in August 2008, and they were implemented in 2010. They include a new focus for China on individual needs in learning, independence in higher education, as well as achieving equality in education.
In 2009, the central government approved an education fund of about 200 billion yuan. About a third went to compulsory education in rural areas. 29 million children from poor families have received financial aid for their schooling. China hopes the reform will help resolve crucial issues facing the country’s education system.