Colleges and universities  across China will launch bilingual education to meet the need for  bilingual personnel after the country's accession to the World  Trade Organization.

   Major courses such as information technology, bio-technology,  new material technology, finance and law will be given in both  Chinese and English, Monday's Beijing Youth Daily quoted a source  from the Ministry of Education as saying.

   Five to ten percent of the total courses will be taught in  English, Zhang Yaoxue, an official in charge of higher education,  was quoted as saying.

   Bilingual education is not new in China. A number of primary  and secondary schools and even some kindergartens in Shanghai and  Beijing have been teaching in English.

   "Bilingual education does not simply improve the students' oral English," the daily quoted Tang Shengchang, principal of a  Shanghai-based secondary school, "It improves their overall  linguistic ability and enables them to think in a second language. "

   Most bilingual schools in Shanghai have adopted original  editions of textbooks from English-speaking countries and first- hand material downloaded from the Internet, so that the students  can learn in a "pure English environment," Tang was quoted as  saying.

   However, the scarcity of bilingual teachers has become a major  problem that hinders the development of bilingual education in  China, as few seasoned science teachers speak good English, and  English-speakers may not be able to give science lectures.

   To solve this problem, the Ministry of Education will send more Chinese teachers to receive training overseas, said Zhang. "The  first group will leave at the end of this year," he said.