ethnicity and race, shall enter a school to receive compulsory education of a prescribed year limit." And the Ministry of Education put forward specific guidelines on matters concerning nine-year compulsory education including the length of schooling, the age of enrollment, the duration of study, required conditions for schools, funding and input for infrastructure, teachers and the administrative system. It also set forth the principle of achieving objectives in accordance with local conditions and in a step-by-step way. By the end of 1987, provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) had also worked out their own plans for providing nine-year compulsory education.

       By the 1990s, the geographical distribution of primary schools in China had become rational, with a school network that enables children to attend school at a short distance from home having taken shape, and conditions for running schools having greatly improved. But a number of factors continue to restrict the coverage of nine-year compulsory education in China. These include a huge population, a weak economic foundation, the colossal size of compulsory education and a fund deficiency for education. The Chinese government is continuing to pay top attention to

making nine-year compulsory education universal and eliminating illiteracy among young adults.

       According to Outline of Reform and Development of China's Education promulgated by the Chinese government in 1994, nine-year compulsory education will be made universal in China in three successive steps: in economically developed areas in the first step, in medium-developed regions in the second step, and finally in economically underdeveloped areas. To achieve the goal, in the summer of 1995 the Ministry of Education and the Finance Ministry jointly organized the execution of a Compulsory Education Program in Poor Areas. This is the biggest education-related poverty relief program receiving the most money from the central coffers. It involved poor counties in 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government. Investment in the program from the central and local governments totaled 11.6 billion yuan (US$1.434 billion).

       Social circles, Chinese compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao and overseas Chinese have given enthusiastic support to the popularization of nine-year compulsory education. Two projects have contributed to the popularization of nine-year compulsory