Cabinet calls for more rural students in top universities

The State Council, China's cabinet, has called on the country's top universities to enroll more students from rural areas, promoting equality in education.

The State Council issued a statement after a meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, saying that the government will offer more opportunities to hard-working students.

The central government also decided to increase the quota of students from the country's least-developed areas attending top universities to 30,000, up from 10,000 last year, according to the statement.

The newly-increased quota of undergraduate enrollments should mostly be pulled from the country's central and western regions, where colleges are limited and students face fierce competition in entering colleges.

The State Council said a plan designed to support the central and western regions in college enrollment will be further implemented, allowing more students from those regions to enroll at colleges in the east.

Through various efforts, the State Council expects to distribute quality higher education resources to rural students from less-developed areas, according to the statement.