Insufficient funding is still a prominent issue affecting the development of compulsory education in rural China, according to a recent report regarding the implementation of the Compulsory Education Law.

But besides increasing educational input, which we have advocated for long time, supervising the proper use of these funds is also a must.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) sent a team to inspect the law-implementation work from April to June.

Despite the achievements the country has made in popularizing nine-year compulsory education, the team found that most rural schools are still struggling with financial difficulties.

Many rural schools do not have enough money to pay even for chalk and electricity. And crumbling school buildings cannot be repaired as there is no stable funding. Though the overall situation is much improved since county-level governments took responsibility for compulsory education and started giving explicit accounts of funding and management, not all teachers get their standard salaries in full and on time. And local governments and schools are burdened by debts owed for the construction of new school facilities built to meet the country's requirement of popularizing compulsory education.

Inadequate financial input is a major cause of rural education's problems, but the misuse of educational funds may be a more pressing one.

Earlier this year, Auditor-General Li Jinhua submitted a report to the NPC standing committee, which says of 50 counties and county-level cities his office inspected, 43 had misappropriated or defaulted on funds designated for local schools.

Local government officials' lack of respect for the law and discipline is a major cause of the massive misappropriation that is found in these counties. Excuses are always found by such officials for the embezzlement of funds bound for education, such as the need for a new public road, or square. This just goes to show their utilitarianism and lack of foresight.

The provision of public welfare is a gauge to measure social development, of which education plays an important part. It will not only benefit the students who attend school, but also improve the overall education level of the region, which is the decisive factor in economic development.

It is pleasing to know that some officials misusing school funds, like the director of Wuchuan Education Bureau of South China's Guangdong Province, have been removed and investigated.

Lessons should be learned from this case. After the "audit storm," a supervision and punishment mechanism should be set up, for that is the only way to avoid future embezzlement.

(China Daily November 3, 2004)