China student aid development report 2017

4. The dominant role of government funds

4.1 Over 120 billion yuan from government funds, up 9.15 percent from the previous year.

In 2017, government funding provided 121.06 billion yuan (not including tuition exemptions, free textbooks, and nutrition subsidies in compulsory education) for student financial aid, an increase of more than 10.14 billion yuan, or up 9.15 percent, from the previous year. Some 61.64 billion yuan came from the central government, an increase of about 3.72 billion yuan, or up 6.42 percent, from the previous year.

A total of 59.42 billion yuan was from local governments, an increase of more than 6.42 billion yuan, or up 12.12 percent, from the previous year.

Government funding was the main source of national student subsidies (not including tuition exemptions, free textbooks, and nutrition subsidies in compulsory education), accounting for 64.32 percent of the total.

Funds from the central government contributed 32.75 percent while 31.57 percent was from local governments.

A total of 8.9 billion yuan from government funding was spent on subsidizing preschool education, accounting for 95.5 percent of the total funding for this educational stage. Subsidies for school boarders in compulsory education all came from government funding. A total of 25.75 billion yuan from government funding was spent on secondary vocational schools, accounting for 70.49 percent of the total subsidies.

Nearly 17.62 billion yuan from government funding made up 90.91 percent of subsidies for regular high school students. Some 50.88 billion yuan, or 48.43 percent of subsidies for regular colleges and universities, came from government funding.