Education ministry clarifies recent budget allocation

Learning TCM in Zhejiang has become a popular choice among foreign students in China. [Photos by Yu Wei for China Daily]

The budget recently published by the Ministry of Education (MOE) is for the students at the primary and high schools affiliated to universities directly under the ministry, not for all Chinese students across the country, an official said on Monday.

According to the budget, the MOE will allocate 416 million yuan ($64.8 million) for primary schools and 1.22 billion yuan for high schools this year, and 3.32 billion yuan for foreign students in China.

Some articles on social media said that the MOE allocated more money for 489,200 foreign students in China than that for 180 million Chinese students.

The official said the budget is only for students at schools affiliated to universities directly under the ministry, not for the 138 million students at primary and high schools across the country.

China has always put education high on its development agenda and keeps investing in the regard, more than 3 trillion yuan was allocated for education, half of which was for students at compulsory education in 2016, he said.

"Most of the money for foreign students is granted to universities, and only the living expenses are paid to the scholarship students to ensure their basic living and study needs," the official noted.

The official added that trial regulations on education quality standard for international students in China will be issued later, in a bid to provide guidance and norms for government management, school running and social evaluation.

"Chinese government has strict selection and enrollment procedures for foreign scholarship students and conduct evaluation every year. If they fail to pass the evaluation, their scholarship shall be suspended or disqualified," he said.

Last September and this March, the MOE carried out supervision against enrollment management problems of some universities and colleges. Schools with problems were ordered to make prompt corrective actions.

"Next, the MOE will prioritize the quality of international students' education and establish and improve the comprehensive quality guarantee system for them in China. We'll promote the education quality through management and ensure international students education in China to go on smoothly," said the official.