China will apply modern technologies in the education of handicapped students in the next five years, said Li Tianshun, deputy director of Ministry of Education's fundamental education department.

More attention should be paid to the education of the handicapped, Li said, and the current system for handicapped students needed improvement.

The Ministry of Education planned to popularize the information technology in all China's schools for the handicapped, using multi-media methods to remove the hurdles for students.

Li said schools for the handicapped in east China and west China's large, medium-sized cities would be equipped with computers connected with the Internet by 2005.

Meanwhile IT-related education would be implemented in all schools, so as to raise the handicapped students' abilities to live and compete in the IT society, he said.

By 2010, all China's special schools for the handicapped would provide multi-media IT education, Li said.

Apart from the investment from Ministry of Education, the government encouraged financing activities by educational institutions, social and business groups.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2003)