Beijing Daily reported that starting from this 2008 spring semester, students who are taking compulsory education in the rural areas of China will not only receive free textbooks, but also recycled textbooks for courses like Music and Arts.

The report said that primary school student's textbooks for courses like Science, Music and Arts and junior high school students' textbooks for courses including Music, Arts, Physical Education and Information Technology will be recycled from the new semester. At the end of each semester, the textbooks will be disinfected, stored and re-allocated for students. At the same time, China's Ministry of Education also encouraged the local education departments to recycle the local textbooks offered to the students.

At present, there are about 150 million students in China who are taking compulsory education. A representative from the Beijing Municipal Education Department says that Beijing had already offered free textbooks to students in the rural areas of the city and is now making a plan of offering free textbooks for students in the urban area.