National education program continues to groom young talent from Xinjiang

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Born to a farming family in Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Mirzat Halmurat now works as a photojournalist at Xinjiang TV Station.

From a country boy to a student in Lanzhou University and finally a journalist – this was all thanks to a program called "Xinjiang Class." In 2006, Halmurat was accepted to the No. 66 Middle School in the east China's Qingdao City, where he had access to better educational resources.

The Xinjiang Class is a national program that aims to provide students from remote parts of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with the opportunity to study at high-quality schools, and train rising talent.

Students from the Xinjiang Class program at Shenzhen No. 2 Vocational School /VCG Photo

This program started 17 years ago and has sent more than 90,000 students from Xinjiang to study in more economically developed regions. Over 21,000 of those students graduated from universities and returned home to help develop their region, according to Xinjiang's Department of Education.

The education authority said more than 13,000 students are involved in the Xinjiang Class this year. 9,980 students will attend high schools, and the remaining 3,300 will attend vocational schools. Currently, 93 high schools in 45 cities are involved in the program.

The students in the program mostly come from ethnic minorities. Xinjiang is home to 47 ethnic groups, including the Han, Kazak, Mongol, Tajik and Uygur.

(With input from Xinhua)