The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Tuesday that it
would help China to upgrade compulsory education programs through a
technical assistance grant of US$500,000.
The ADB said that the grant will help put in place effective
financing policies, strategies and mechanisms to ensure universal
access to nine years of high-quality education.
The focus of application of the funds will be on ensuring
equitable, timely and stable resource flows to schools, increasing
enrollment and improving teaching and learning processes.
A macro-level study will be conducted, together with a more
in-depth micro-level investigation centered on sample counties in a
poor western province, a moderate-income central province and a
prosperous eastern province.
Getting a good education is one of the best ways to escape
poverty and to ensure that people do not wind up on the wrong side
of the digital divide, the bank said.
"Basic education plays a critical role by allowing citizens to
respond to a changing socioeconomic environment and to participate
in, and contribute productively to, China's economic and social
development," said Christopher Spohr, an ADB social sector
economist.
"Education is public good and most of the financing comes from
the public sector. However, government budgets, particularly at the
local level, are under stress. Reforms in the policies that are
used to finance education are vital to achieving the goal of
universal compulsory education and to achieve the second Millennium
Development Goal (MDG)," he added.
The ADB said that although China has made significant progress
in making elementary education nearly universally accessible, major
challenges remain.
In poor and disadvantaged areas, communities have difficulty
mobilizing and managing resources, leading to weak system
management and inadequate funding for teacher salaries and learning
materials, it noted.
"Poverty disproportionately threatens education prospects for
girls, who comprise roughly 80 percent of China's dropouts. Their
parents cannot afford the fees and cost of books," Spohr said.
In view of these challenges, the Chinese government has renewed
its commitment to achieving the second MDG of providing education
for all, reflected in an action plan released in April 2003, and to
achieving the "two basics": elimination of illiteracy and universal
nine-year compulsory education.
Special emphasis has been given to the country's western region,
where, as of the end of the 2002-2003 school year, 372 counties had
not yet achieved universal compulsory education, 60 counties had
failed to provide full primary education and 260 were still
battling illiteracy among young and middle-aged adults.
The ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific
region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social
development and good governance. In 2003, it approved loans
amounting to US$6.1 billion and technical assistance totaling
US$177 million.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn October 13, 2004)