Society

Gov't financial aid for college students up 18%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-12 21:07

BEIJING - China spent 34.72 billion yuan ($5.1 billion) on financial aid for college students last year, up 18.21 percent from the previous year, a Ministry of Education official said here Thursday.

The aid included scholarships, stipends, loans, and allowances, said Cui Bangyan, a senior ministry official in charge of financial aid for students.

Also, tuition fees were cut for students from certain groups, such as the disabled or ethnic minorities, Cui noted.

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Governments at all levels, financial institutions, universities and colleges all increased their investment in student assistance last year, Cui added.

College students in 23 provinces and regions can now apply for education loans in their home towns and 622,000 students received the loans last year, 239 percent more than in the previous year.

Chinese college students may also receive loans after submitting an application to their school.

However, Cui said, some local governments and financial institutions did not give enough support out of fears the students would not repay the loans.

"We will further enhance supervision and administration and make student loans an effective way to aid poor students and their families," Cui said.

There were 22.85 million students in Chinese public and private universities last year. Some 5.27 million of them were from poverty-stricken families, official figures show.