context: In 2011, the State Council launched the 'Nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students' to reduce malnutritious and improve education quality. The Ministry of Education issued measures to enforce management of the plan. However, at the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee's tenth meeting, Hou Kai 侯凯 auditor general presented the 2023 audit report on budget execution that displays significant obstacles.
The State Council audited C¥23.137 bn of subsidy funds from 2021 to August 2023 across 159 counties in 13 provinces, and identified three main issues hindering the effectiveness of their 'Nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students'.
- subsidy mismanagement
- direct misuse: in 66 counties, C¥1.951 bn diverted to repay government debt and other expenses
- iIndirect misappropriation: in 41 counties and 1,533 schools, C¥270 million misappropriated by lowering meal standards and falsifying procurement
- collusion and fraud: in five counties, education departments conspired with suppliers to siphon off C¥42.1602 million through dividends and donations for personal benefits
- meal providers’ non-compliant operations
- 147 suppliers and some school canteens engaged in non-compliant practices (e.g. reduce meals’ quality or quantity)
- lack of supervision in meal procurement
- in 25 counties, 52 suppliers provided meals to 2,605 schools through direct assignments and unreasonable terms
- 78 providers used forged qualifications to win 101 nutrition meal projects in 35 counties
- regulatory departments and 77 schools were involved in corruption
According to MoE (Ministry of Education), five years after the plan started, the central government has allocated C¥160 bn, and local pilot zones have allocated C¥23 bn for the nutrition meal subsidy program. The program covers 137,000 schools, benefiting 20.97 million students in 699 national pilot counties and 12.64 million students in 803 local pilot counties.
However, reports by Liu Shanhuai 刘善槐 and Wu Zhihui 邬志辉 Northeast Normal University Rural Education Development Institute professors in 2015 and 2016 have shown that the funding of the ‘nutritious meal program’ is not timely, and schools need to pay in advance by borrowing money from teachers and parents. Specific causes include
- schools lack funding to maintain kitchen’s operation, hence need extra money from parents
- e.g. water, electricity, gas
- corruption
- report more purchase than the actual amount
- lack funding for supporting staff, hence deduct out money from the plan’s fund
- staff overworked
- academic teachers need to act as cooks, security and student life teachers
To improve the plan’s execution, Liu and Wu suggested more government funds for relevant staff. Funds’ management refinement is the key to tackle the aforementioned issues, contends Li Tao 李涛 Northeast Normal University Rural Education Development Research Institute distinguished professor. He suggests
- fine-tuning budgeting
- reforming fund allocation to one that’s not per-capita
- expanding the scope of public funds