China's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday it would allocate 2.06 billion yuan (US$294 million) to subsidize school heating in the country's northern rural areas.

The money would go to primary and middle schools in rural areas of 13 provincial regions including Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang. The subsidies would also cover those in the northern part of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shaanxi provinces.

The ministry urged local departments to make the subsidies available to schools as soon as possible and plan more money for small-size ones and those in the high-cold land.

It required departments at all levels to keep a close eye over the management of the subsidies and help schools fix solar heating systems and renovate walls of schoolhouses to make sure teachers and students would be protected from the harsh winter.

(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2008)