BEIJING, Jan. 9 -- China's Ministry of Education (MOE) will adjust the layout and quantity of higher education institutions, channeling more resources to populous provinces and central-western regions, according to a decision announced at a recent ministry meeting.

The initiative aims to address the imbalance in higher education access, the ministry said at the meeting held in Beijing on Thursday, which laid out the country's education development roadmap for the year.

The MOE has taken a step in narrowing the gap. Six of the nine new universities approved by it on Jan. 4 will be located in populous provinces across the country's central and western regions.

The same meeting also mandated the optimized allocation of basic education resources. This includes backing the construction and expansion of high-quality middle schools in towns facing a surge in school-age populations, as well as in regions with underdeveloped educational infrastructure.

In 2025, a total of 13.35 million students in China registered for the national college entrance exam, or gaokao.