China spending more on education, ministry says

China's education expenditures saw a 5.3 percent year-on-year increase in 2023, reaching a total of 6.5 trillion yuan ($890 billion), according to data released by the Ministry of Education on Monday.

Higher education experienced a notable increase in funding, with a 7.6 percent rise year-on-year to 1.8 trillion yuan. Of this amount, vocational education saw a 7.1 percent increase during that period to 363 billion yuan, indicating a continued emphasis on developing skilled laborers.

The national expenditure on senior high school education reached roughly 1 trillion yuan last year, a 6.2 percent jump from 2022. Of these funds, 330.9 billion yuan was invested in secondary vocational education, up 2.1 percent year-on-year, the data shows.

Investment in the nine-year compulsory education system added up to 2.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year.

In addition, the data shows the nation saw its largest increase in the proportion of its per capita education spending for kindergartens last year, which rose 8.8 percent year-on-year to reach 16,243 yuan.

The total national expenditure on preschool education amounted to 538.2 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the previous year, suggesting a growing investment in early childhood development.