BEIJING, March 9 -- China will release its 13th five-year plan on education this year to deepen reform and promote the modernization of education, the country's top economic planner said on Tuesday.

Non-governmental sectors will be encouraged to invest in education and efforts will be made to promote the integrated development of education in urban and rural areas in the next five years, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The development of education in China's central and western regions will be accelerated during the 2016-2020 period and teaching facilities will be improved in schools for compulsory education in poor areas, said the NDRC.

The five-year plan on education will also focus on bilingual education in minority areas, education of left-behind children (those under the age of 16 whose parents work away from home) in rural areas and children of migrant workers in cities, according to the NDRC.

The plan also stressed the importance of expanding high school enrollment in China's central and western areas and minority areas.