Tsinghua reaches out to poor

Tsinghua University in Beijing has accepted 50 students since its "self-improvement plan" was launched in 2011, 90 percent from rural areas.

This year's enrollment for the program began on Sunday, China Central Television reported. A written exam and "comprehensive interview" were organized on Monday morning and afternoon at Tsinghua University. Five other universities have not yet announced the time and place.

Tsinghua University is leading five other universities, namely Nanjing University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University and the University of Science and Technology of China with a 2014 "self-improvement plan."

The universities will select rural students, aim to give more opportunities for impoverished students to enter into major universities. Shanghai Jiao Tong and Zhejiang universities joined the scheme this year.

The exam and interview questions at Tsinghua are different from other universities' recruitment exams, said Yu Han, director of admissions at Tsinghua.

They are designed for rural students from remote areas. Students are asked about their study experiences in rural areas and teachers quiz students for hints of academic excellence.

The recruitment scope has been enlarged to include 240 national-level poverty-stricken counties who can recommend excellent students.

Previously a school could recommend one candidate, but this year it's three. Each student can apply for three universities.

The students who receive approval to take part in the "self-improvement plan" at Tsinghua University would gain 60 points on their college entrance exam. Tsinghua also lends students a 10,000 yuan ($1,653) subsistence allowance and arranges a work-study position for them.

Lei Xiang, from a high school in a mountainous area of Luquan county in Yunnan Province waited to register in the main hall of Tsinghua University.

The teacher scanned his admission ticket and gave him a 50-yuan dinner card after confirmation. He also handed out the candidates an inspirational book called Support you going to Tsinghua University to every student. Lei held his air ticket in his hand and waited for a 600-yuan subsidy.

Lei found his accommodation at a nearby service building in Tsinghua University through help from Tsinghua students. The four-person room is large, bright and has clean white bed sheets. Each student pays 60 yuan a day to sleep there.

This is the first time Lei has flown to Beijing. It cost nearly 3,000 yuan including accommodation expenses and airfare for his family, he said.

While Lei's family is poverty-stricken, he wanted to become a Tsinghua student through his own efforts, with the support of his family, teachers and fellow students.