Global children's charity Plan International signed an agreement Tuesday with the Ningxia's Hui Autonomous Region to launch a one-year Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) project in Wuzhong City.

Under the agreement, the parties will invest 712,000 yuan (US$110,000) to improve the quality and access of education for children aged 0 to 6. New preschools and kindergartens will be built in the region to improve enrollment rates.

After inspecting the region last March, Plan found that early education enrollment, as well as facilities and faculty standards in rural Wuzhong lag far behind other Chinese cities.

Mark Leighton, country director for China at Plan International, said that Plan is one of the largest child-centered community development organizations in the world, which has given aid to children living in poorest regions of China since the 1990s.