The program, jointly initiated by ministries of education,
finance and agriculture, would utilize biogas and solar energy
technologies in constructing toilets, drinking water and garbage
treatment facilities.
Most students in primary and middle schools in the country's
poor rural areas are still using open-air lavatories with poor
sewage treatment systems or suffering from a lack of such
facilities, said Wang Xuming, spokesman with the Ministry of
Education.
"The fund of the program will be covered by both central and
local governments," he said.
Wang, however, failed to give the regions the pilot program
covered and the amount of investment needed.
"The pilot program will raise the quality of school life in
rural areas and ensure health and safety," Wang said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2008)
?