Guangdong Province in South China will become the first benefactor in the
country of digitalization in the field of education.

By the year 2005, every teenager in high school will be required to take computer-related courses in all six academic years, the same as they do with Chinese language,
mathematics and English.

Information technology will also be introduced to improve traditional teaching methods, and trials of "paperless classrooms" will be conducted in some leading schools, according to an official from the Guangdong Education Bureau (GEB).

This rosy digital future was announced last Saturday at a provincial meeting on elementary education systems, which vowed to pave an information highway for educational development in the new century.

In response to the central government's call, educational digitalization is expected to be realized throughout the country before 2010.

But in Guangdong, its robust economy has enabled the province to take a lead in developing a solid base of hardware.

By the end of last year, the number of computers in elementary and high schools had soared to 232,000, accounting for over 15 per cent of the national figure.

Nearly 450 computer labs and 220 campus computer networks have been built, according to the GEB's statistics.

"They are not just for the students' entertainment or hobby any more. Computer knowledge has become necessary for kids to prepare themselves for the coming information age," said Chen Lin, a GEB official.

Analysts said adopting computer-related programmes echoes social demands for computers skills, which are now as fundamental as mathematics, Chinese and English.

Successful computer pilot schemes have been implemented in a number of Guangdong schools over recent years.

In the six main high schools in the city of Nanhai, every teacher under the age of 45 and every three students are equipped with a computer. Fibre cables have been installed to connect every school and every classroom.