More than 90 percent of uneducated prisoners in Sichuan province will have to hit the books and become "literate" within two years, according to a circular issued on Wednesday by the provincial prison administrative bureau.

In China, a person is considered literate "if he knows 1,500 Chinese characters, can understand simple stories published in newspapers, do simple math and write simple articles".

"More than 90 percent of the inmates in the province below the age of 45 will receive compulsory education before they are released," the circular said.