In its implementation of the 9-year compulsory education plan, Guangzhou has been carrying out the policy of "Two Exemptions and One Supplement" targeting students from verified poor families. Free education is also provided to abnormal children who are still in the period of compulsory education and aid is also extended to students from rural areas.

In this information age Guangzhou also attaches great importance to the construction and implementation of E-education projects, information-oriented education programs, schools' digital library projects as well as educational resources for teachers. An increasing number of teachers are now developing their own teaching software and courseware. Guangzhou is in a leading position in the modernization of IT equipment in schools.. More schools than ever before are offering IT courses and, as an example, at present 100% of the junior and senior high schools in Guangzhou have IT classes.

Guangzhou has 60 institutions of higher learning, 24 of which offer MA/MS degrees. Undergraduates number 600,000 and graduates 50,000. Guangzhou Municipal Government has also spared no effort in raising vocational education's share of the educational pie and in cultivating technicians both as students and as teachers. At present, there are 200-plus institutions of vocational training and 200-plus independent R&D organizations. Professional technicians total 700,000 with the total number of primarly-level technicians totaling more than 1,000,000.

Higher Educational Mega Center

The HEMC (Higher Educational Mega Center) is in the southeastern part of Guangzhou, just opposite Pazhou Island. It has a planned area of 43.3 km² and has been in use since September, 2004. Ten universities and colleges, including Sun Yat-sen University, have located in the City. This University Mega Center helps to form a cultural environment concentrating and integrating the resources of multiple institutions and educational resources into one location. The center also plays a very positive role in intercollegiate cooperation and the improvement of the quality of teaching as well as the comprehensive cultivation of college students.

Policies concerning the introduction of talent

Guangzhou has stipulated that a series of preferential policies which are designed to attract, cultivate and train talents be implemented. Favorable policies are provided to talented people in higher education aimed at solving problems related to job transfers, Hukou registration, housing and the education of their children. Programs facilitating exchanges of high-tech elites are also organized regularly.

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