Shanxi to strengthen financial support for quality and balanced development of compulsory education

On July 7, the Finance Department of Shanxi Province announced that the province will prioritize compulsory education in its financial expenditures, focusing particularly on ensuring the quality and balanced development of compulsory education.

The province will adopt a classified and tiered approach to determining the financial responsibilities of the provincial, municipal and county governments based on regional economic development and fiscal capacity. Priority will be given to allocating provincial-level compulsory education funding to 46 key counties in need, aiming to reduce the gap in school conditions between different regions.

Meanwhile, a unified urban-rural compulsory education funding mechanism will be established, focusing on rural areas and continuously increasing the benchmark quota for public expenditures of compulsory education schools. Support will also be given to improving the basic conditions of rural compulsory education schools and expanding urban schools' enrollment quotas. 

Shanxi will instruct and urge cities and counties to establish effective mechanisms to ensure that the incomes of compulsory education teachers are within a reasonable scope. This includes linking their salary adjustments to those of local civil servants, ensuring that their salaries are no lower than the average salary of local civil servants.

The province will also further improve targeted financial aid for students from families with financial difficulties. Approximately 3.4 million students across the province will be exempt from tuition and miscellaneous fees and receive free textbooks, and financial assistance will be provided to 300,000 students from families with financial difficulties.