During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, about 77 percent of all handicapped children started their compulsory education, with an increase of 15 percentage points over that of the Eighth Five-Year Plan period. In addition, about 2.57 million handicapped have received professional training at different levels and altogether 6,812 handicapped students have been admitted by colleges and universities.

According to sources from the work meeting closed on April 14, 620 more institutions had been opened for vocational education and training of the handicapped during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period as compared to the Eighth Five-Year Plan period. And ordinary institutions which took in the handicapped for professional training came to 3,194 in all, 1,330 more than the previous period. In addition, over 90 percent of all handicapped students with qualified records were admitted to colleges and universities.

Up to the end of 2000, among those children who were visually, audio-linguistically and intellectually handicapped, only the intellectually handicapped reached the enrollment ratio as stipulated in the relevant index of the state's Ninth Five-Year Plan. The main reasons should be attributed to insufficient realization of and outlay, on special education, teachers' quality and economic difficulties of the families with the handicapped.

Currently, the provinces that have reached the national average in the enrollment ratio of handicapped children, are mostly the developed areas. While in the 12 provinces and autonomous regions in West China, the number of unschooled handicapped children at school age due to poverty accounts for 46 percent of the total and that in the middle China where economy is not well developed takes up 35 percent.

(People's Daily 04/17/2001)