Some 700 teachers from China's developed regions have been despatched to 20 schools in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region for a three-year program to improve the quality of education.

The first group of 76 teachers have arrived in Tibet, ready to take up positions in the regional capital of Lhasa, and in more remote areas such as Xigaze, Nyingchi, Shannan and Qamdo.

Sponsored by the ministries of education, finance, human resources and social security, the program will improve education in Tibet, which is dependent on both central and regional government funding to ensure education for farmers and herdsmen.

Fang Lingmin, vice chairman of the regional government, said the teachers from 17 municipalities and provinces, including Beijing and Jiangsu Province, will be divided into 20 groups to assist with teaching in the schools.

Four hundred teachers will also be selected from Tibetan kindergartens and schools every year to receive training and hands-on experience in schools in developed regions.

The central government has carried out various programs to support Tibet's development.

Under the assistance scheme, teachers from developed areas are encouraged to sign short contracts at Tibetan schools to help improve the quality of local education.

Tibet has 1,855 schools and more than 600,000 students. The region was the first in China to offer a 15-year free education program for all children from kindergarten to high school, which has helped increase the enrollment rate of primary, junior high and high schools to 98 percent, 96 percent and 74 percent, respectively. However, schools in remote areas still lack basic infrastructure to ensure a stable power supply and access to clean drinking water.

China has taken a variety of measures to ensure Tibetan students' schooling. Some have been offered the chance to study at high schools in eastern cities since 1985.

The government has helped train a large number of professionals for the underdeveloped plateau region and boost Tibet's development.