Chinese central government decided to allocate a special fund of 10 million yuan (US$1.24 million) each year to improve the education level of the minorities, according to the Ministry of Finance.

A source with the ministry said Wednesday that the government has increased support to the cultural and educational affairs of Chinese minorities in recent years.

The source said the special fund will be used to improve school conditions for primary and middle school students in minorities areas.

The population of minorities in China accounts for less than 10percent of the country's total. They are mainly concentrated in autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi and Tibet, and provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, Hunan, Hubei and Hainan.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2006)