BEIJING - Authorities in a east China city have been found to have cheated the Ministry of Education to get more funds by exaggerating the number of registered students for government-subsidized nine-year compulsory education.

According to a ministry statement posted online Monday, the education department in Jieshou city, Anhui province, in a 2009 report included false information about student numbers, 10,498 more than reality, resulting in it getting 6.63 million yuan (around 1 million US dollars) more in government funds.

The city's education department then spent the money in supporting local needy schools to purchase education facilities, students desks and chairs, and books.

In a second failed attempt, the department re-fabricated the students figure in a report submitted last year, this time 7,136 higher than the actual figure of 68,725, according to the statement.

Head of the Jieshou city's education department has been sacked for the incident, the ministry said, urging all local education authorities to strictly follow disciplines and regulations in education fund management.

China's nine year compulsory education, including six-year primary school plus three year of middle school study, is covered by a combination of central and local government fund. But government funding support for many schools in remote and underdeveloped regions is just not enough.