Zhongshan will implement the tuition-free policy for vocational education since this semester. Sheng Yuanzhog, chief of Technician Education and Human Resources Market Sector of Zhongshan Human Resource and Social Security Bureau, said yesterday that nearly 80 percent of vocational students, according to the initial estimation, could benefit from the new policy and the government would “pay” 80 million yuan for the project each year. Based on the preliminary statistics, around 31,000 out of the 40,000 vocational students are in conformity with the policy. Non-residents students could also enjoy free tuition if in accordance with the policy. The tuition fees charged since the fall of 2012 are proposed to be refunded by the end of June. Private schools’ refunding standard follows the fiscal tuition-free subsidy standard, 2500 yuan per student per academic year. Since the free-tuition and refunding policies would be adopted simultaneously in the first year, financial investment is expected to hit 180 million yuan. Since 2015, the government is estimated to invest 80 million yuan annually