Over 98 percent of Chinese children at schooling age for primary school are in school, while 90 percent of teenagers are now studying in middle school, said the Women and Children Work Committee of State Council Monday.

The committee told Xinhua that the central government has planned to invest 5 billion yuan (US$605 million dollars) in improving compulsory education in poverty-stricken regions from 2001 to 2005.

With the investment from the central and local government, 1,102 primary schools and 486 middle schools were built and some 3,000 were expanded by September 2002.

The central government also gave 600 million yuan (US$72.55 million) to 13 frontier provinces and autonomous regions including northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and southwest China's Yunnan Province for the improvement of local educational facilities.

China increased the government allowances to poor students in primary and middle schools from 30 million to 100 million yuan annually in 2001, which funds 1 million children every year.

Meanwhile more than 2.43 million needy students in primary and middle schools receive free textbooks every year, which costs the central government 200 million yuan annually.

The disabled children have received 30 million yuan from the government every year for their compulsory education since 2001 and another 35 million yuan will be spent on those in less developed west and central China from 2001 to 2005, the committee added.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2004)