The Guangzhou city government's decision to finance the
continuing education of its civil servants from its own coffers has
sparked a debate on the legitimacy of using taxpayers' money for
such purposes.
The plan to subsidize the degree and non-degree courses of local
government staff is contained in a document issued by the Guangzhou
Municipal Personnel Bureau. It claims that the move is made to
improve the quality of the city's civil servants and make the
municipal government more efficient.
"A high-quality civil service team would certainly help build a
highly efficient government, improve the city's competitiveness and
provide better services to local residents and visitors and
tourists in the city," argued an official from the bureau, who
refused to be named.
To this end, the municipal government would continue to send
senior government officials and executives of state-owned
enterprises (SOE) to study abroad while encouraging other civil
servants to sharpen their skills via studies in domestic
universities and colleges, he told China Daily on
Monday.
According to the notice, all of the city's civil servants will
receive financial aid if they want to advance their education,
beginning July 1 next year.
Apart from overseas studies, financial support will range from
30 to 50 percent of tuition fees. The maximum subsidy is set at
30,000 yuan (US$3,610).
The total cost of studying for a master's degree in China, which
takes two or three years, is around 60,000 yuan (US$7,220).
Civil servants will also be allowed to take an extra 12 days off
each year to pursue their studies.
While most civil servants support the move, the notice has
raised great controversy among local residents, deputies to the
local People's Congress and members of the local committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). These
groups tend to be highly critical of the decision to use public
cash to fund personal studies.
Jiang Bin, a local CPPCC member, opposed spending public funds
to subsidize civil servants' continuing education. The decision to
pursue further education is up to the individual, Jiang pointed
out, adding that it would be unfair for other residents to
subsidize this.
Zhu Yongping, a deputy to the local People's Congress, noted
that subsidizing the education of all civil servants would be a
huge expense that should require the agreement of the local
People's Congress.
Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong
Province, now has more than 200,000 civil servants. At present,
half of them are college graduates.
(China Daily September 7, 2004)