In 1993, the government pledged to increase spending on education to 4 percent of China's GDP. Last year, it reiterated that pledge, which unfortunately has not fulfilled so far, says an article on eastday.com. Excerpts:

The target of allocating 4 percent of GDP to education was based on 1993 figures. Eighteen years have passed since then, and today the country's GDP is significantly higher. But the government is still to meet the target.

Last year, the State Council issued the National Outline for Medium- and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development (2010-2020), which included the timeline for achieving the target.

Let us hope the target will be met next year according to the timeline. Education is very important for overall cultural development, innovation and thus the future of the entire country.

Since the country's financial condition is sound today, the government should shoulder its responsibility and ensure that the education sector gets the attention and funds it deserves.

Inadequate spending on education has already created many problems for the country. For instance, uneven distribution of educational resources has given rise to the so-called school-choosing fees in many cities, which in turn have aggravated the already unbalanced distribution of resources. As a result the quality of education has suffered in many areas.

China is still a fast-growing economy, and even a small share (4 percent of GDP) of its economic gains can make a big difference to educational development. Let us hope the government allocates 4 percent of GDP to education at least in 2012.

(China Daily 03/16/2011 page9)