Education investment hiked

 

The Chinese Premier announced a hefty educational investment plan of the year, making education a "strategic priority".

 

A total of 85.85 billion yuan (11 billion U.S. dollars) will be allocated from the central budget this year, an increase of 41.7 percent over the previous year, government statistics show.

 

Part of the central educational fund will be used to grant more poor students the access to education, said Wen .

 

"This is another major move we are taking to promote fairness in education following the exemption of all tuition and miscellaneous fees for rural students receiving compulsory education," said the premier.

 

A system of national scholarships and tuition assistance will go into operation this semester, which starts in early March, for regular undergraduate institutions, vocational colleges and secondary vocational schools, said the premier.

 

Funds appropriated for this purpose by the central government will be 9.5 billion yuan (1.22 billion U.S. dollars) this year and 20 billion yuan (2.56 billion U.S. dollars) next year, and local governments should allocate corresponding amounts from local budgets.

 

"Education is the bedrock of China's development, and fairness in education is an important form of social fairness. We need to make education

 

391.7 billion yuan input for agriculture

 

The central government of China will invest 391.7 billion yuan in agriculture, rural areas and farmers this year, as it vows to develop modern agriculture and promote the building of a new countryside, said the premier.

 

"We will effectively shift the focus of state infrastructure development and development of social programs to the countryside, " said Wen.