The Chinese government will  spend five to ten years, starting from 2001, for promoting IT  education among primary and middle schools including vocational  and technical schools.

   This was disclosed at the on-going Expert Meeting of the 4th  Ministerial Review Meeting on Education for All of the Nine High- Population Countries, which was opened here Tuesday morning.

   The subject of IT will be made compulsory throughout the  country, and by the year 2005, IT education will become a  compulsory course in all the middle schools, and the primary  schools in cities and other developed areas.
 
   The coverage will be expanded to over 90 percent of schools  nation-wide as soon as possible.
   Moreover, taking into consideration local conditions, different methods will be explored to make the Internet accessible to all  primary and middles schools.

   Before 2010, some 90 percent of the countries' primary and  middle schools will gain access to the Internet and broadband net; and for the remaining 10 percent, multi-media teaching facilities  and other resources will be made available.  
            
   The Chinese government will also make efforts to integrate IT  and other subjects.

   The study and application IT should be integrated with the  development of educational concepts, and IT should be applied to  the improvement of the educational system, content and methods.

   Meanwhile, teachers will try to apply IT in teaching other  subjects as much as possible, and IT should be employed in   students' studying and in the creating process.

   IT will also give full play to long-distance education and new  information and communication technologies so as to meet the  evolving needs of the social and economic development, promote the training of practical skills and accelerate the national  development of education.  

   To achieve the goal, the Chinese government has worked out a  guiding principle stressing rational planning and all-round  promotion, which are tailored to the needs of different localities and with a focus on effectiveness.