The Chinese central government said Monday it will allocate 175 billion yuan ($28 billion) in the next five years to improve education in poverty-stricken areas.

The appropriations are part of authorities’ efforts to balance allocation of education resources between urban and rural areas, in a bid to realize equal access to education. Top priority should be given to boosting education in impoverished regions to ensure timely allocation and efficient use of the funds, said Liu Limin, Vice Minister of Education.

Figures from the Information Office of the State Council show expenditures from public finance on education in 2013 totaled 2.187 trillion yuan. This marked a 3% rise over the previous year, with a focus on poverty-stricken rural areas. In the same year, the central financial body allocated 19 billion yuan in nutrition subsidies and a special fund of nearly 10 billion yuan for building student dining halls.

Report compiled with information from Xinhua.