Previously, it was implemented in many parts of the country, and Zhangzhou District in Fujian Province announced that high school tuition fees would be waived and free starting in the autumn. | System | Zhangzhou, Fujian Province

On August 15th, Changtai District, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, issued a notice announcing the implementation of the high school free program starting from the autumn semester of 2023, which has attracted attention.

The notice states that in recent years, the Changtai District Committee and Government have attached great importance to education, given priority to the development of education, implemented a series of reforms, and achieved outstanding results, effectively enhancing the sense of access to education for the masses. In order to enable the people of Changtai to enjoy more reform dividends, the district committee and government have decided to implement the high school free project starting from the autumn semester of 2023. The free scope includes high school students studying in schools in the district, and the free project is high school tuition fees. The free standard is 600 yuan per student per semester and 1200 yuan per year.

The practice of Zhangzhou City in Fujian Province is not the first in the country. Pengpai News has found that currently, free high school education has been implemented in multiple provinces. Inner Mongolia fully implemented free high school education throughout the region as early as 2012; In 2016, Shaanxi Province proposed to implement 13 years of free education, offering free education for 1 year of preschool and 3 years of high school; In the same year, Qinghai Province began implementing 15 years of free education for all students from six provinces and impoverished families in Xining and Haidong cities; In Jiangxi Province, several counties such as Tonggu, Luxi, and Hukou have implemented free high school education; Zhuhai in Guangdong and Nanjing in Jiangsu have also promoted 12 years of free education.

On December 1, 2017, Xinjiang, as a pilot of the "15 year free education" reform, became the first region in China to implement 15 year free education. Previously, according to Xinjiang Daily, this policy focused on supporting rural areas, benefiting 857200 students. This means that these students can receive education from kindergarten, primary school, junior high school to high school without spending money in the future.

It is understood that free education will be implemented for high school students in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, that is, for ordinary high school students and secondary vocational school students who implement full-time secondary education. Specifically, it includes: free tuition fees, textbook fees, accommodation fees, subsidies for students from economically disadvantaged families, subsidies provided by private schools in accordance with the free education standards of similar public schools in the local area, and the portion higher than the free education standards of public schools shall be borne by the student's family; Those who are lower than the free education standards of public schools will be subsidized according to the actual standards of private schools.

Among them, the average annual tuition fee for ordinary high schools is 1200 yuan, the average annual textbook fee is 670 yuan, the accommodation fee is borne by the same level of finance for boarding management and operation costs, and the average annual scholarship is 2000 yuan; The average annual tuition fee for secondary vocational schools is 2000 yuan, the average annual textbook fee is 300 yuan, the average annual accommodation fee is 600 yuan, and the average annual scholarship is 2000 yuan.

15 years of free education is not a unfamiliar word.

According to the Ethnic Daily, the 15 year plan for free education has become a reality in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xizang Autonomous Region, Pinglu District of Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, Ningshan County and Wuqi County of Shaanxi Province.

On October 21, 2021, the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Finance jointly issued the "Opinions of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Finance on Implementing a 15 Year Free Education Policy in Diqing Prefecture", deciding to implement a 15 Year Free Education Policy in Diqing Prefecture starting from the autumn semester of 2021. It is stated that starting from the autumn semester of 2021, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture will implement a 15 Year Free Education policy, and in addition to nine-year compulsory education, the fees for 3 years of preschool and 3 years of regular high school will also be exempted.

According to the announcement from the Education and Sports Bureau of the state, the provincial finance will allocate 70.41 million yuan annually for this purpose, exempting preschool children from childcare fees at a rate of 2200 yuan/student/year, and exempting high school students from miscellaneous fees at a rate of 1200 yuan/student/year and accommodation fees at a rate of 160 yuan/year; At the same time, for economically disadvantaged families, preschool children can receive an annual living allowance of 1500 yuan, and the standard for high school students is 3000 yuan.

In addition, some provinces have also issued policies for free education for students with special needs.

On August 1, 2023, the Guangzhou Education Bureau, the Guangzhou Finance Bureau, the Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and the Guangzhou Disabled Persons' Federation jointly issued the "Implementation Measures for Free Education for Special Students in the Basic Education Stage in Guangzhou", which specifies that special students who meet the requirements can be exempted from kindergarten childcare education fees during the preschool education stage; Compulsory education is exempt from miscellaneous fees and textbook fees; During the high school education stage, miscellaneous fees can be waived in regular high schools, and tuition fees can be waived in secondary vocational schools. The Implementation Measures shall be implemented from September 1, 2023, and shall be valid for 5 years.

The free scope and target audience of the Implementation Measures are divided into two stages: preschool education, compulsory education, and high school education. Special students in the preschool education stage are required to attend preschool classes and special education kindergartens in various special education schools approved by the education administrative departments at or above the district level in Guangzhou, as well as attend special education classes in regular kindergartens, attend regular classes, or receive teaching services, and hold a disability certificate for eligible disabled children in kindergarten; Special students in compulsory education and high school education stages must be eligible disabled students who attend special education schools in Guangzhou, as well as special education classes in compulsory education schools, regular high schools, and secondary vocational schools, attend regular classes, or receive teaching services, and hold a Disabled Person Certificate.

Not only that, free education has also become a policy measure for some provinces to reduce education costs and encourage childbirth.

The Weifang Municipal Party Committee and Government of Shandong Province issued the "Implementation Plan for Optimizing Maternity Policies and Promoting Long term Balanced Population Development" on January 20 this year, which specifies five key measures to accelerate the construction of a fertility friendly environment.

In terms of reducing education costs, Weifang City proposes to scientifically layout inclusive kindergartens, vigorously develop public kindergartens, and support private kindergartens in providing inclusive services. Implement a funding system for preschool education for economically disadvantaged children, orphans, and disabled children, and encourage priority enrollment of three children into inclusive kindergartens. Three children born after May 31, 2021 in accordance with the law are exempt from tuition fees during their enrollment in public ordinary high schools.

During this year's two sessions, Gan Huatian, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a professor at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, also stated in a media interview that exploring more effective policies to encourage childbirth should encourage local governments to boldly innovate in reducing parenting and education costs. In order to reduce the education costs of families with multiple children, it is recommended to provide special education subsidies for families who have two or three children, and provide free education for the third child from kindergarten to high school graduation.

However, it is worth noting that according to relevant regulations of the Ministry of Education, the implementation scope of the free education policy cannot be arbitrarily expanded.

According to Beijing Daily, as early as 2021, National People's Congress deputies proposed the implementation of free high school education. However, the Ministry of Education mentioned in its public response that the central policy requires all regions to strictly implement the Compulsory Education Law, adhere to the nine-year compulsory education system, and strictly prohibit the arbitrary expansion of the scope of free education policy implementation.

In August 2018, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Adjusting and Optimizing the Structure to Improve the Efficiency of Education Fund Utilization", which clearly stated that compulsory education should always be the top priority of education investment, and required all regions to strictly implement the Compulsory Education Law, adhere to the nine-year compulsory education system, and strictly prohibit the arbitrary expansion of the scope of free education policy implementation.