BEIJING — Over 40.6 million students in China's rural areas have benefited from a national program on nutrition enhancement of rural students of compulsory education since 2011, according to a recent report.

A total of 29 provincial-level regions around the country have carried out the program, covering 145,700 compulsory education schools in rural areas and over 42 percent of rural students receiving compulsory education, said the report from the Ministry of Education.

From 2011 to 2019, the central budget invested more than 147 billion yuan (about $20.64 billion) for the program, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs in less developed regions.

In the future, the country will step up efforts to ensure food safety and proper use of the funds, said the report.