This paper explores the bandwagon effect of competing for central fiscal transfer by local governments based on a dataset containing policy proposals for minority education submitted to People's Political Consultative Conference between 1983 and 2012 in China. As long as the increasing of the educational input into ethnic minority areas by the central government, the local government has become more impulsive to apply for central fiscal transfer. The strength of bandwagon effect is affected by the centrallocal relationship of fiscal system and the spending preference of local government. In order to relieve the bandwagon effect and increase education input reasonably, we suggest to reform the fiscal system arrangement for different kinds of minority education transfers (including personnel funds, public funds and earmarked funds) on basis of promoting the overall managing role of provincial government.