Whether China will reach its goal of spending 4 percent of its GDP on education by 2012 will depend on whether the central government can get its policy implemented to the letter at the local level.

The latest document issued by the State Council on Friday introduced new measures to meet the target set by the guidelines for education reform and development published last year. They include apportioning a larger share of local and central level taxes and 10 percent of revenue from land sales to education.

This is undoubtedly a significant move by the central government and is more than necessary given the fact the input for education dropped from 3.59 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.57 percent in 2010.

Despite the 20 percent average increase in expenditure on education from 2001 to 2010, its percentage in the country's total GDP is still not high enough. As early as 1993, the central government put forward the goal of increasing education spending to 4 percent of its GDP by the year 2000. Yet, this was not met.

Now there is not much time left for the government to reach that 4 percent target by the end of 2012. That objective is unlikely to be met unless greater efforts are made. That explains why the State Council has come up with these new measures and now requires local governments to allocate 10 percent of their revenue from land sales to education after deducting compensation for land requisition and demolitions and expenses for land development.

The message is that the State Council is determined to meet the target. Such determination is significant in that it sends the message to local governments that they must attach the same importance to education.

However, the central government's determination is one thing, whether its local counterparts will do what is required of them is another.

The fact that the central government has failed to meet the target in the past 10 years speaks volumes about how hard it is to bring home to local government leaders the importance of education for the country's long-term development .

Even if the target is met, there is still little reason for optimism that education in the vast rural and remote areas will be substantially improved, unless a mechanism is established to make sure that every penny is spent exactly as it should be and local governments attach as much importance to education as they should.

Making the best use of the money is as important as meeting the target for financial input. This is also what the central government has spelled out to its local counterparts in the document. What is needed now is a mechanism for the central policy to be effectively realized.