As many as 30,000 university vacancies will be reserved for rural high school students in this year's university admissions plan, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Education's website on Tuesday.
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Rural education, which often lags behind that of urban areas, reduces rural students' chances of attending good universities in China.
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Raising the amount of rural students at leading universities will promote educational and social equality and is necessary for improving the quality of higher education, the statement added.
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The number of poverty-stricken counties covered by the plan will reach 832 this year, up from 680 in 2012, according to the statement.
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An estimated 8.6-percent more rural students are expected to enroll in the country's leading universities this year than last year, according to the statement.
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Statistics from the ministry show that the national average college admission rate was 8.5 percent in 2011, while the number for the 680 impoverished counties stood at just 5.7 percent.
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The ministry will also push forward renovation work in rural schools and high school construction in areas with concentrations of ethnic minorities, according to the statement.Â