China on Thursday began a new project to tighten supervision and assessment to narrow the education gap between the east and the central and western regions, according to the Ministry of Education.

　　A primary school in Qingtian village, Anhui Province [File photo: VCG]

Third-party supervision and assessment will be introduced to promote education in the central and western regions, which have fallen behind the east, the ministry said.

　　A primary school in Xitaishan village, Henan Province [File photo: VCG]

The supervision and assessment will focus on seven aspects including vocational education, ethnic education and accesses to education for the disabled, according to the ministry.

　　A primary school in Beijing [File photo: VCG]

The four-year project requires annual reports from 2017 to 2020 based on 265 indicators such as educational funding and school facilities, among others.

Details like classroom temperature, staff-student ratio and student numbers will be monitored.