The Challenge of Lifelong Learning for Education Finance in China

June 26, 2006

Authors: Carl Dahlman, Douglas Zhihua Zeng, Knowledge for Development Program, and Shuilin Wang, Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC).

This presentation was delivered at the conference on “Public Finance for a Harmonious Society,” organized by the World Bank in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, DFID and Beijing University.  The conference was attended by about 150 high-level government officials and academia. The roundtable was an extremely successful exchange of views and will be followed up by a summary of key policy recommendations that will go to the State Council.

The presentation delivered by the K4D team highlighted the key points from the upcoming book on "Building a System of Life-Long Learning to Enhance China ’s Competitiveness." 

The Challenge of Lifelong Learning for Education Finance in China. (PDF, 197Kb)

The team argued that there is a need for a considerable expansion of size and quality of education and training system in China. At the same time, financing requirements are beyond the capacity of the government. Thus, the Government will have to:

1. Improve allocation and management of resources by strengthening accountability   and evaluation
2. Improve productivity of public and private resources
3. Develop additional co-financing mechanisms
4. Strengthen student loan market
5. Develop financial market for education
6. Give more attention to equity issues

For more information, see also:

• All resources for China and the Knowledge Economy
• Event on Global Innovation Policy Dialogue: India and China