Private and public financing of education and regional disparities in education inputs in contemporary China

Abstract

Reforms to China's education sector over the last two decades have sought to diversify the sources of funding education. This paper examines the consequences of these reforms for Chinese families and regional disparities in access to education. To illustrate the implications of education reforms for Chinese families, we draw on a large survey of urban residents across 32 Chinese cities as well as a case study of fees charged by a single secondary school in Chengdu. We argue that while China has made progress in moving towards the United Nations objective of ‘Education for All’, decentralization of China's education funding has impeded access to schooling for many, particularly those living in financially disadvantaged locales, and placed an undue financial burden on many ordinary Chinese households.