BEIJING, Oct. 2-- China's education department on Friday promised to hire more art teachers and pool resources to provide students with better art education.

The Ministry of Education said in a press release that it is working on a timetable and effective measures to make sure that primary and middle schools have enough art teachers, especially those in remote and less developed rural areas.

Compared with the subjects included on major school entry exams such as Chinese, Math and English, art lessons remain elective and are sidelined in many Chinese schools, the ministry statement said.

Last Wednesday, the State Council issued a national program on improving art education and nurturing aesthetic skills among young people.

The biggest barrier to improving art education is a lack of qualified art teachers, the ministry statement stressed.

It promised to invest more government resources in the training of art teachers and also urged local education departments to pool existing resources, such as local artist associations and art troupes.

Art colleges are encouraged to lend a hand through support projects with primary and high schools.

Private art schools and training programs are also welcomed to work with public schools, the ministry said.

The education departments will evaluate the level of art education in schools every three years.