Shaanxi Provincial Price Bureau has announced that, starting this autumn, it will ensure that public schools will provide tuition-free education covering one year of pre-school or kindergarten education, six years of primary school, three of middle school, and three of high school.

According to the announcement, public primary school and middle school in both rural and urban areas can charge only school sundry or service fees at current rates. Tuition exemptions for a public senior high school at the provincial level will be 800 yuan ($120), for an ordinary urban high school, 350, and for an ordinary rural high school, 200.

Private senior high schools will have the same tuition free exemptions as public ones, with the student’s family paying any further amounts charged by the schools.

Other fees, for room and board, for example, will be assessed according to financial and education department standards. Some students, such as those from rural areas, urban students in vocational agricultural schools, or those whose families suffer from financial difficulties, may not have to pay tuition. This financial exemption does not apply to students in vocational art schools.