More than 13,000 students will attend "Xinjiang classes" in economically developed regions this year, according to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region education authority.

Among the students, 9,980 will attend high schools in areas outside Xinjiang. Currently, 93 high schools across China offer Xinjiang classes, part of a national program to train talent for Xinjiang.

The remaining 3,300 students will attend vocational schools. This year, about 77 percent of the students come from Aksu, Hotan, Kashgar and Kizilsu Kirgiz prefectures in southern Xinjiang.

The Xinjiang classes program started 17 years ago and has sent 90,000 students from Xinjiang to study in more economically developed regions. Among them, over 21,000 have graduated from universities and returned to the region, according to Xinjiang's department of education.

Xinjiang classes have provided students from remote parts of the region with the opportunity to study at high-quality schools.

Xinjiang is home to 47 ethnic groups, including Han, Kazak, Mongol, Tajik and Uygur.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2017)