Central China's Henan Province provided financial aid to 268,000 needy college students in 2005 to help them accomplish college education, according to the provincial government.

The province has 851,900 college students, 23 percent of whom come from needy families. In an effort to help these students, the province's educational and financial departments have been working together to establish a supportive financial system for students in need.

According to statistics, state-level scholarships totaling 5.23 million yuan (some 645,679 U.S. dollars) and a total of 12 million yuan (about 1.48 million U.S. dollars) from the provincial government have been granted to the needy students.

The province's universities and colleges put aside 160 million yuan (about 19.75 million U.S. dollars) to offer scholarships and loans for needy students and continued to provide them with a monthly subsidy of 150 yuan (about 18.5 U.S. dollars).

Source: Xinhua