Minister of Education Zhou Ji said in a recent interview that the thorniest problem he faces is how to ensure there's enough money for education.

Zhou admitted the education sector falls short of the demand for high-quality learning.

Statistics have proved Zhou's claim to be true.

In 2002, China spent 3.28 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on education, 0.04 percentage points down from the previous year, according to government figures.

In 1993 the State Council had promised to raise that ratio to 4 per cent by 2000. The average level in developed countries generally hovers around 5 per cent, and around 4 per cent in developing countries.

China's education laws also stipulate that State input in education should grow in accordance with economic expansion.

This is obviously not happening at the moment.

Zhou's claim, however, does not show the whole picture.

The core problem with China's education sector is not an inadequate input of cash, but the way the money is spent.

Therefore increasing investment may still not satisfy the demand for "high-quality education" if the problem of an imbalanced distribution of cash remains unresolved.

The imbalance mainly lies in the distribution of cash into education in rural and urban regions, and between basic education and higher learning.

In 2002, only 23 per cent of the cash spent on education was earmarked for rural areas, even though these areas are inhabited by about two-thirds of China's population.

As a result, the ratio of college students to the local population aged between 18 to 22 varies widely in different regions. For example, in Beijing in 2002 it was 49 per cent, while in Southwest China's Yunnan Province it was 8.64 per cent.

In terms of economic development, China's rural areas lag far behind the big cities and urban areas. Urban areas earn more than three times as much as rural areas.

Education is the best way for the poor to climb the social ladder and for economically backward regions to catch up with developed ones. Lacking educational resources, underdeveloped regions would face a "talent drought" in the longer term.

This imbalance in educational resources may lead to widening regional development and income gaps in the future.

Education, if properly managed, can promote social equality. But if it is not, then people will miss out just by being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

There is also a worrying trend where most of the cash earmarked for education is aimed at higher education. In some places, higher learning expenditure accounts for 90 per cent of local State funding.

A policy that leans towards higher education means basic education suffers badly from lack of funds.

With such problems, merely increasing the amount of cash spent on education will not solve the problem.

Restructuring will ensure the money is spent more effectively and fairly, and in so doing, promote the healthy development of the country's most vital cause -- education.

(China Daily February 23, 2005)