Wen: 'No universal education, no strong country'

BEIJING: A country can not become strong or prosperous if it does not make education universal and improve its quality, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday.

China will give "high priority" to developing education, Wen said in the government work report delivered at the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature.

Special Coverage: NPC & CPPCC Annual Sessions Related readings:  Government to increase spending on education  Put focus on education  Wen seeks opinions on draft of education reform plan  Equal education targeted: Wen

The draft outline was published Sunday for public opinions.

Wen said China will focus on five areas in the implementation of the outline. They are, namely, to advance education reform, promote the balanced development of compulsory education, strengthen vocational education, reform the management and admissions systems of institutions of higher learning, and improve the ranks of teachers.

The annual amount of government investment in education will increase to 4 percent of the country's total gross domestic product (GDP) by 2012, according to the outline.