Guangdong promotes equal education

Guangdong will increase budgets for education in coming years as the southern province gears up to balance educational development in its rural and urban areas and promote equal education between migrant workers and local residents.

Local government spending on education in the province will account for about 20 percent of the total fiscal expenditure this year, said Luo Weiqi, director of the Guangdong provincial education bureau.

Guangdong's spending on education is expected to account for 25 percent of its total fiscal expenditure by 2015, according to Luo.

"The expenditure will be mainly used to improve basic educational facilities and develop better teacher resources in rural areas," Luo said.

Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, plans to invest more than 180 billion yuan ($28.5 billion) in improving people's livelihoods and promoting equal access to public services, including education and health, in rural areas this year, sources with the local government said.

"We will also increase expenditures on education for migrant workers to promote equal education with local residents," Luo said.

The province, which has a population of some 20 million migrant workers, currently spends more than 50 billion yuan each year to promote migrant workers' education, Luo said. By the end of last year, more than 1.6 million migrant workers had received higher education in the province.

Qiu Quanlin