BEIJING -- All financially-underprivileged students in China will qualify for financial support in the next five years.

The government plans to phase out tuition fees for secondary vocational school students and exempt senior high school students who were financially disadvantaged from paying tuition fees, according to Du Yubo, vice minister of education.

Assistance programs for pre-school education will also be explored in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), according to Du on Friday.

In order to improve the effectiveness of the assistance, Du urged local authorities to allocate aid on a case-by-case basis.

Benefits for poor students and children have increased in recent years.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Education in August, more than 142.1 billion yuan ($21.9 billion) was allocated to student assistance programs in 2014, up about 20 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, the number of students and children benefiting from programs funded by the government, loans and donations, was also on the rise.

The report said more than 85.4 million students from preschool to university received financial aid in 2014, up 6.86 percent from the year earlier.