Chinese Ministry of Education will send a special team to nine central provinces to supervise the use of funds allocated for compulsory education, the China Youth Daily reported Wednesday.

China exempts all students in rural areas from various fees in nine-year compulsory education this Spring.

The team will check whether the funds allocated for the compulsory education are properly used, according to the Ministry.

It will check whether the students are overcharged and whether salaries of teachers engaged in compulsory education are still lower than those of local civil servants, according to the Ministry.

China has vowed to increase spending on nine-year compulsory education to ensure students in poor regions have access to education.

The Ministry of Finance has allocated 9.2 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in subsidies for compulsory education in rural areas this year, including 7.5 billion yuan to cover tuitions and 1.7 billion yuan to supplement school budgets.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2007)