BEIJING — About 10,000 normal college students will receive targeted training annually from 2021 in a bid to improve the performance of primary and middle school teachers in underdeveloped areas in China's central and western regions, according to a recent plan.

Normal colleges and universities in China mainly train faculty for educational institutions.

The special training will be conducted by normal universities directly under the Ministry of Education (MOE) and local-level normal colleges for schools in counties that emerged from poverty and along the land borders, says the plan released by nine departments including the MOE and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Six normal universities directly under the MOE will enroll students from China's central and western regions for the national-level training program. The students should make a pledge to return to serve in primary and middle schools in designated counties for at least six years, the plan says.

Local normal colleges and universities appointed by provincial-level administrative departments for education in the central and western regions are responsible for local-level special training.

Students enrolled in the plan will be exempt from tuition and accommodation fees and will receive living subsidies.