Policy digest: Aug 26

Budget Law receives implementation update

A revised regulation on the implementation of China's Budget Law will come into force on Oct 1, according to a State Council decree signed by Premier Li Keqiang that was published on Thursday.

The revised regulation incorporates the outcomes of fiscal and taxation reform as well as the fruits of budget management practices in recent years, aiming to ensure that public finances benefit the people.

Consisting of eight chapters and 97 articles, the new regulation clarifies how public budgets at various levels should be created, firms up transparency requirements, and improves the transfer payment mechanism.

It also enhances the management of local government bonds and standardizes the handling of special fiscal accounts.

China's Budget Law was passed in 1994 and took effect in 1995.

Finance Minister Liu Kun said in an article published on Friday that the revised regulation embraces fiscal reforms in recent years, further improves fiscal management systems and mechanisms, and meets the current need to pursue a more proactive fiscal policy that has greater impact.

It will also contribute to efforts to ensure stability in the six areas of employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment and market expectations, Liu said.

He told financial authorities and budget units at all levels to earnestly implement the regulation, push forward with financial reforms and speed up efforts to build a modern financial system.

Reform to make path to teaching jobs smoother

China will reform the teacher qualification system by canceling qualification exams for graduates from the country's normal universities, which provide teacher training, in an effort to encourage them to work in the education sector, an executive meeting of the State Council decided last week.

The Aug 17 meeting, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, said the reform will be carried forward on the basis of temporary measures implemented earlier this year that allow teachers to take up posts before obtaining teaching certificates, a news release issued after the meeting said.

It also required the establishment of a performance appraisal system in normal universities to assess the teaching abilities of students.

The reform will mainly target graduates with master's degrees and above in education, as well as normal university students with publicly funded education backgrounds, it said.

Assessment of the quality of schools that provide teacher education will be a pillar of the reform, and graduates from schools that pass assessment will be granted teaching qualifications without taking exams, the meeting decided.

The news release said Li told the meeting that pushing forward with reform of the teaching qualification system will ensure that more normal college graduates are able to secure jobs smoothly, which matters a lot for safeguarding stable employment.

The country faces a shortage of teachers in primary and secondary schools, and especially in kindergartens, and the reform will help to increase the number of teachers, Li said.