BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key education news from the past week:

-- More Chinese study abroad in 2018

The number of Chinese people studying overseas reached 662,100 last year, 53,700 more than that in 2017, according to the Ministry of Education Wednesday.

Among those, 65,800 were sponsored by public funding while 596,300 were self-funded.

The number of returned overseas students totaled 519,400 in 2018, increasing by 38,500 from the previous year.

-- China sees progress in "balancing" development of compulsory education

China's efforts to promote the "balanced development" of compulsory education, which usually means narrowing inter-regional, rural-urban or inter-school gaps in terms of education conditions and quality, has borne fruit, the Ministry of Education said.

According to the ministry, the balanced development of compulsory education has been achieved in 2,717 counties, representing 92.7 percent of counties across the country.

A State Council directive on the balanced development of compulsory education issued in 2012 foresees that by 2020, the balanced development of compulsory education should be achieved in 95 percent of China's counties.

-- Survey shows more Chinese college students pursuing financial independence

A recent survey shows that close to 90 percent of university students want to gain financial independence, the China Youth Daily reported Monday.

Among those who have such plans, 72.88 percent said they realized financial independence to varying degrees, and 8 percent are paying their own personal bills, the Beijing-based newspaper said.