There was a time when it seemed Ma Xiaohong's days as a schoolgirl were over.

After finishing primary school in 2002 at the age of 12, Ma, a girl from Guyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, was told she could no longer attend class because her parents could not afford the fees.

"There was nothing I could do," Ma said. "My father had been paralyzed for a long time. There was no one to blame."

Like many of her peers, Ma found herself stuck at home, tending the fields. But even the hard work on her family's farm could not dull her interest in the pursuit of education.

"I didn't know why, but somehow I always felt that I would be back at school one day," she said.

Her intuition was right, though it would take four years to become reality. In 2006, the government announced it would waive tuition and incidental fees for all students living in rural areas in the country's economically underdeveloped west. The policy allowed Ma to once again hit the books.

For those who have been following education policy, Ma's is a familiar story - she is one of 50 million students who have benefited. And in the coming months, that number will increase twofold.

In his speech at the opening of the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao promised to extend free education to another 100 million students in rural areas.

The government will also give financial support to students who cannot afford the rural boarding schools that are central to educating people in the countryside. The lack of educational resources in some areas means that not every student is within walking distance of a school, so they must stay in dormitories.

The government has set up a special hotline to ensure that students who need help get it. Students and their families can notify the authorities if they are asked to pay for things other than textbooks.

But there are other problems to consider.

Revenue from fees was previously an essential source of income for teachers. Without it, rural teachers, who already earn much less than their urban counterparts, could be discouraged by the potential loss in income.

The flow of teachers from the countryside to more developed towns and cities is a major problem for rural schools.

Minister of Education Zhou Ji has said the interests of teachers will not be compromised to benefit students.

"Over the next five years, 300 billion yuan (US$42.2 billion) will be invested in rural education every year," Zhou said.

"All of the money will come from the central government and public finances. And a large part of it will be used as benefits for teachers."

"Giving adequate incentives to teachers in rural areas to encourage them to stay will be doing a great service to all the students."

City students will also benefit when they gain access to free education starting this autumn.

The two measures have been hailed as milestones as they rewrite the definition of compulsory education for primary and middle school students.

"When the legislation for compulsory education was first enacted in 1986, it covered a mere 20 percent of all schoolage children.

"With the development of the country's economy, that number has been constantly on the rise," Zhou said.

"Twenty years is the time we need to take out the 'paid' that is tacitly understood when we say 'compulsory education'."

(China Daily March 13, 2008)