As the school bell rings at the Ethnic Boarding Primary School in Sichuan's Aba County, young students hurry excitedly to their special-interest class – this time it's music.

They tap their feet to the rhythms of different melodies and learn to sing songs while plucking strings of the Mandolin – a musical instrument they've rarely seen before, except on television.

Dorje, a fifth-grader, told CGTN that she had dreamed of learning how to sing when she was little. So she was very happy that she could attend a music class provided by the school.

Samkho, a sixth-grader, said, "Whenever I am home-sick or unhappy, I would come to play musical instruments. It always makes me feel better."

Since the opening of this special zone for extra-curricular activities, the school has been offering its hundreds of students a variety of different classes to choose from, including music, folk dance, drawing and Tibetan and Chinese calligraphy.

Renkho, the school's headmaster explained the bigger picture of rural education. 

"It's important for students to learn basic cultural subjects, but from the aspect of schooling, we need to improve their overall development. That's why we launched this extra-curricular program," he explained to CGTN.

Most of the students here are from poverty-stricken families who struggle to pay their children's tuition fees. But now, with the nation's widespread efforts to eradicate poverty, students here are enjoying a free education, free food, and lodging. Every semester, each of them receives a subsidy of more than 1,600 yuan, or around 240 U.S. dollars.

The enrollment rate in middle schools in the region is at nearly 100 percent. Most of these pupils will graduate into the local Ngawa Tibetan Middle School to continue their learning, also for free.

Comfortable playgrounds, bright classrooms and modern teaching equipment means the school is a far cry from what it was when it was founded 30 years ago.

Mego has been teaching here since the campus was set up. In the early days, he had to go door-to-door to convince parents to send their children to school. But now, locals here are more than willing to let their children receive a formal education.

Mego says despite an enhanced quality of education, he hopes for even better things to come. 

"Education resources here are still way behind those in other regions. What needs to be solved first is the lack of qualified teachers. I hope we can have a more professional and younger faculty. Then this campus can enjoy a brighter future," he added.

As the whole country is pushing to eliminate absolute poverty, more and more investments and other resources are pouring into Aba County.

For local ethnic communities, they are now embracing a new phase of development, but it all started with an enhanced quality education.