Authorities in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region will assign 2,939 teachers to educational institutions in inland China for a 2-year aid program designed to provide anti-separatism education and promote unity among students from Xinjiang, local media reported Monday.
In a bid to provide better educational services and management, Xinjiang's Party committee decided to dispatch many more teachers this year to fully equip all educational institutions in inland provinces and regions that have students from Xinjiang, news portal ts.cn reported.
Xinjiang's Party chief Zhang Chunxian said at the send-off meeting held Monday that teachers should lead students to promote unity and fight against separatism and religious extremism, ts.cn reported.
Educational authorities in Xinjiang first began assigning experienced teachers who can speak the Uygur language to other regions in 2000 to assist with the management of students from Xinjiang, ts.cn reported.
The report noted that a total of 234,000 students have gone to other inland regions of China from Xinjiang to study.
Zhang said that teachers taking part in the program should cultivate talented students from the region, guide students to adapt to their new lives in their new homes, and help students gain a better understanding of the central government's support of Xinjiang.
He also noted that teachers should "publicize the historical changes in Xinjiang and the good trend toward social stability to allow more people to understand the region and to hear local residents' voices."
Over 2,700 teachers have been assigned to inland high schools to manage and provide services for Xinjiang students over the past decade, according to ts.cn.
