Chinese govt spends $86 billion on improving school infrastructure in poor regions

BEIJING - The Chinese government spent about 615.6 billion yuan ($86 billion) on improving school infrastructure and facilities in less developed regions in the five years starting from 2014, with 169.9 billion yuan allocated from the central budget, Monday's China Education Daily reported.

Students' study and living conditions have improved in recent years after central government agencies, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, launched programs to improve the basic conditions in compulsory education schools in poor areas amid efforts to balance the distribution of education resources.

Since 2014, 224 million sq m of school buildings, 222 million sq m of outdoor playgrounds, over 29 million sq m of student dormitories, 13.16 million sq m of student cafeterias and 6.77 million sq m of toilets have been built, renovated or expanded, figures from the report show.

In addition, 98.6 percent of the country's primary and secondary schools have gotten access to the internet, and more than 90 percent of them have multimedia classrooms. There are 14.03 computers per 100 students nationwide, up 51.7 percent from the figure at the end of 2013.

China requires children to receive nine-year compulsory education, which covers primary school and junior middle school, usually from the age of six.