An estimated 16 million middle school students will get access to high school education by 2010, according to a recent seminar on professional education.

Expecting about 20 million graduates from junior middle schools across the country in five years, China's senior high schools and vocational high schools will enlist about 80 percent of middle school graduates, said the sources at the seminar.

The move is a further step in promoting education following progress in China's nine-year compulsory education and the anti-illiteracy campaigns among young adults.

Based on current achievements, China will continue to popularize senior high school education, Zhou Ji, minister of education, said at the seminar held Saturday in Guilin, a tourist city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

About 8.5 million junior middle school students will get a chance to enter senior high schools and 8.5 million others will receive professional education every year, according to Zhou.

China has set a target to increase investment in education to 4 percent of GDP and aims to provide free nine-year compulsory education in rural areas in 2010 and for all students across the country in 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2005)