Is chinese education underfunded?

China Quarterly

Volumn , Issue 202, 2010, Pages 327-343

  Kipnis, Andrew ^a   Li, Shanfeng ^b  

^a AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^b Chinese Sociological Association   (China)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPARATIVE STUDY; EDUCATION REFORM; EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PUBLIC SPENDING;

CHINA;

EID: 77954467050     PISSN: 03057410     EISSN: 14682648     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0305741010000263     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Deborah Davis, Pierre Landry, Yusheng Peng and Jin Xiao, "Gendered pathways to rural schooling: the interplay of wealth and local institutions," The China Quarterly, No. 189 (2007), p. 61;
2. Teng Margaret Fu, "Unequal primary education opportunity in rural and urban China," China Perspectives, Vol. 2005, No. 60 (2005), p. 34;
3. Xue Lan Rong and Tianjian Shi, "Inequality in Chinese education," Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 10, No. 26 (2001), p. 120;
4. Rachel Murphy, "Paying for education in rural China," in Vivienne Shue and Christine Wong (eds.), Paying for Progress in China: Public Finance, Human Welfare and Changing Patterns of Inequality (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 69;
5. D. P. Yang, "Pursuing harmony and fairness in education," Chinese Education and Society, Vol. 39, No. 6 (2007), pp. 5-7.
6. Rong and Shi, "Inequality in Chinese education," p. 120.
7. See National Bureau of Statistics (comp.), China Statistics Yearbook 2001 (Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2001), p. 897. The fact that the UN and other international agencies publish such statistics but base their numbers on data from individual countries compounds the problem. Readers might imagine that the UN has either independently verified the data or at least ensured that each country is counting spending by the same methods. In the Chinese case, it is clear that the UN data simply reproduces that from China's statistical yearbooks. As the many footnotes to the UN data make clear, the data from different countries is not really comparable. This incomparability also makes the 5% average figure questionable.
8. National Bureau of Statistics (comp.), China Statistics Yearbook 2008 (Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2008), pp. 37, 802.
9. Internet sources show that the range of teacher salaries in Australia (roughly $A39, 000 to $A58, 000 in 2003
10. see http://www.educationworld.net/salaries-aus.html, accessed 3 March 2009) is comparable to the average income for a full time worker ($A49, 000 in 2004
11. see http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/19/1092877127562.html?from= storylhs, accessed 3 March 2009). In Shandong, in all the districts that we visited, the range of teacher salaries was considerably higher than average income levels. In one county, for example, primary school teachers made between 1, 000 and 2, 000 yuan per month and secondary teachers 1, 300 to 3, 500 yuan per month while the average salary was 800 yuan per month.
12. China Statistics Yearbook 2008, pp. 49, 802.
13. Carsten A. Holz, "China's 2004 economic census and 2006 benchmark revision of GDP statistics: more questions than answers?" The China Quarterly, No. 193 (2008).
14. This information comes from a speech by the head of the head of the Education, Science and Culture Division of the Ministry of Finance (Caizheng bu jiaokewen si sizhang), Zhao Lu, who is the official responsible for compiling the statistics in question. The speech was given on 6 June 2007 at the meeting "Financial issues in post-compulsory education" in Beijing and entitled "Financial policies in support of the expansion of post-compulsory education. " A copy is accessible at http://www.mof.gov. cn/jiaokewensi/zhengwuxinxi/lingdaojianghua/200806/t20080624-49855.html, accessed 25 September 2008.
15. On the impact of the tax for fee reform on rural education
16. see John James Kennedy, "From the tax-for-fee reform to the abolition of agricultural taxes: the impact on township governments in northwest China," The China Quarterly, No. 189 (2007). For an English-language presentation of the drop in extra-budgetary government expenditures on education
17. see Davis, Landry, Peng and Xiao, "Gendered pathways to rural schooling," p. 62.
18. Shukai Zhao, "Rural governance in the midst of underfunding, deception and mistrust," Chinese Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 39, No. 2 (2007), pp. 36-44.
19. Zhonghua renmin gongheguo shenji bangongting, Shenji jieguo gongbao 2004:50 xian jichu jiaoyu jingfei shenji diaocha jieguo (Beijing: Zhonghua renmin gongheguo shenji bangongting, 2004), report available at http://www.audit.gov. cn/cysite/docpage/c516/200406/0622-516-9461.htm.
20. National Bureau of Statistics (comp.), China Statistics Yearbook 2005 (Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2005), p. 712.
21. Limin Bai, "Graduate unemployment: dilemmas and challenges in China's move to mass higher education," The China Quarterly, No. 185 (2006).
22. Ibid. p. 129.
23. Shandong sheng tongji ju (ed.), Shandong Statistical Yearbook 2006 (Beijing: Zhongguo tongji chubanshe, 2006), p. 468.
24. Ibid. p. 474.
25. Xin Ru, Xueyi Lu and Peilin Li (eds.), 2006 nian Zhongguo shehui xingshi fenxi yu yuce (Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 2005);
26. China Statistics Yearbook 2008.
27. Gong Li, "Shandong sheng gaoxiao 13 ge kuojian xiangmu yinghang daikuan zhan bida 62.8%," Di yi caijing ribao, 31 July 2006.
28. Zhou Daping, "Tuoqian jiaoshi gongzi: yige bixu zhuajin jiejue de wenti," Liaowang (Outlook Weekly), Vol. 42 (1993).
29. Guojia jiaoyu dudaotuan, Dui Shandong sheng guanche luoshi guowuyuan jueding he guoban tongzhi qingkuang de dudao jiancha baogao (Jinan: Jiaoyu ju, 2002), accessed at http://www.moe.edu.cn/edoas/website18/90/info12290.htm.
30. Andrew B. Kipnis, "School consolidation in rural China," Development Bulletin, No. 70 (2006).
31. Qingyang Hewu, Tracing the Causes of Owed Wages in the Construction Industry, 2007, China Labour News Translations, http://www.ycwb.com/gdjsb/2007- 09/04/content-1606084.htm, accessed 23 September 2008.
32. Yulin Zhang, "Cong shuzi kan jiaoyu bu gong," Zhongguo gaige (China Reform), Vol. 2004, No. 12 (2004), p. 23.
33. Bin Li and Yang Xie, "Xiao sheng chu zexiaofei ling zha she: shei shi liyi qiantiao de shouyizhe," Zhongguo qingnian bao 14 October, 2008, accessed at http://www.jyb.com.cn/xwzx/jcjy/sxkd/t20081014-199868.htm.
34. In 2006 there were 8.7 million new upper secondary students in China.
35. See China Statistics Yearbook 2008, p. 779.
36. New enrolments at Shandong senior middle schools numbered 645, 455 in 2007.
37. See Shandong sheng tongji ju (ed.), Shandong Statistical Yearbook 2008 (Beijing: Zhongguo tongji chubanshe, 2008), p. 585.
38. For the amounts in the "other" category see China Statistics Yearbook 2008, p. 802.
39. Rong Cai, Mingxing Liu and Ran Tao, "Education fee burden in rural China," Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences, No. 30 (2006);
40. Davis, Landry, Peng and Xiao, "Gendered pathways to rural schooling";
41. Fu, "Unequal primary education opportunity";
42. Kennedy, "From the tax-for-fee reform to the abolition of agricultural taxes";
43. Hui Li and Christine Wang, "Guest editors' introduction," Chinese Education and Society, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2008);
44. Rong and Shi, "Inequality in Chinese education";
45. Murphy, "Paying for education in rural China";
46. Yang, "Pursuing harmony and fairness in education. "
47. Andrew B. Kipnis, "The disturbing educational discipline of 'peasants'," The China Journal, No. 46 (2001);
48. Andrew B. Kipnis, "Education and the governing of child-centred relatedness," in Susanne Brandtstadter and Goncalo D. Santos (eds.), Chinese Kinship: Contemporary Anthropological Perspectives (London: Routledge, 2008).
49. Andrew B. Kipnis, "Suzhi: a keyword approach," The China Quarterly, No. 186 (2006);
50. Andrew B. Kipnis, "Neoliberalism reified: suzhi discourse and tropes of neoliberalism in the PRC," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2007).