The Chinese government will offer greater financial support to education for ethnic minority groups in the next decade, says a national education plan released Thursday.

The Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) says allocation of public educational resources shall favor minority-inhabited areas.

"Speeding up educational development for ethnic minority groups is of far-reaching importance for promoting socioeconomic development among the people and in the areas inhabited by them, and for enhancing unity between people of different ethnic backgrounds," the outline says.

Efforts shall be made to promote coordinated development of all kinds of education at all levels in minority-inhabited areas, it says.

Border counties and impoverished counties in ethnic autonomous areas shall be supported to meet government standards for the construction of school buildings for compulsory education, with special efforts devoted to building boarding schools, it says.

Development in senior middle school education in the minority-inhabited areas shall be speeded up. Support shall also be granted to areas with poor education in a bid to renovate, expand or build senior middle schools, it adds.

No effort shall be spared to expand vocational education in minority-inhabited areas, and more support shall be granted to secondary vocational education in these areas, according to the outline.

And more support shall be granted to educational development for ethnic minorities with small populations, it says.

Efforts shall also be made to advance bilingual teaching, open Chinese language classes in every school, and popularize the national common language and writing system.

However, minority groups' right to be educated in their native languages shall also be respected and ensured, it says.

Schools in minority-inhabited areas shall get more help from their counterparts in other parts of the country under a "pairing-assistance" program, it says

The education for ethnic minority groups has seen marked progress in recent years, it says.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2010)