China student aid development report 2017

5.2 Financial aid for students in compulsory education

In 2017, about 142 million students in compulsory education were provided with free textbooks nationwide.

More than 83 million students benefited from the free textbook policy supported by local governments, and nearly 16.05 million boarding students from impoverished families received subsidies for their living expenses. Governments at all levels provided about 17.59 billion yuan for free textbooks and dictionaries.

Nearly 15 billion yuan was provided by central finance and 2.66 billion yuan by local finance. About 17.91 billion yuan was spent on subsidizing boarding students from impoverished families, among which more than 8.1 billion yuan was from central finances.

5.2.1 Free textbooks provided by the central government

In 2017, some 142 million students in compulsory education received free textbooks. By region, 42.26 million students in western regions benefited from national free textbook policy; 54.30 million in central regions; and 45.68 million in eastern regions.

Finance departments at all levels spent a total of 17.59 billion yuan on free textbooks.

About 14.93 billion yuan, or 84.88 percent, came from central finance; about 1.86 billion yuan, or 10.59 percent, from provincial-level governments; about 14 million yuan, or 0.08 percent, from city-level governments; and about 783 million yuan, or 4.45 percent, from county-level governments. By region, about 4.68 billion yuan, or 26.62 percent, was spent in western regions; about 6.2 billion yuan, or 35.23 percent, in central regions; and about 6.71 billion yuan, or 38.15 percent, in eastern regions.

5.2.2 Free textbooks provided by local governments

In 2017, about 83.04 million students received free textbooks provided by local governments.

Of these students, about 28.94 million students were in western regions; about 25.92 million in central regions; and 28.18 million in eastern regions.

More than 2.7 billion yuan was provided by local governments to support the free textbook policy. About 785 million yuan was spent in western regions, accounting for 28.86 percent of the total expense; 618 million yuan in central regions, accounting for 22.72 percent; and 1.32 billion yuan in eastern regions, accounting for 48.42 percent.

5.2.3 Living allowances for boarding students from impoverished families

In 2017, more than 16 million boarding students from impoverished families benefited from the living allowance policy. Of them, more than 10 million boarding students were in western regions, about 3.75 million in central regions, and about 2.26 million in eastern regions.

Altogether, nearly 18 billion yuan was provided by finance departments at all levels to support students.

About 8.12 billion yuan came from the central government financial support, accounting for 45.35 percent of the total. About 6.51 billion yuan, or 36.39 percent, was provided by provincial-level finance departments.

About 710 million yuan, or 3.96 percent, came from city-level finance departments.

Some 2.56 billion yuan, or 14.3 percent, came from county-level finance departments. By region, the amount of money spent on subsidizing living expenses for boarding students in western, central, and eastern regions was 11.64 billion yuan or 64.98 percent, 4.34 billion yuan or 24.23 percent, and 1.93 billion yuan or 10.79 percent, respectively.

5.3 Financial aid to secondary vocational school students

In 2017, a total of 36.53 billion yuan was spent on subsidizing 15.1 million students studying at secondary vocational schools, an increase of 3.32 billion yuan, or up 9.98 percent, from the previous year.

Nearly 10 million of these students benefited from national tuition exemptions totaling 19.97 billion yuan; 2.55 million benefited from national grants totaling 5.1 billion yuan; local governments spent 681 million yuan helping about 870,500 students; schools provided 240 million yuan for 314,400 students; 174 million yuan from social funds was provided to support 37,100 students; and about 1.34 million students at secondary vocational schools received financial aid through workplace internships, amounting to 10.37 billion yuan.