Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Gansu province will redouble its efforts to support free pre-school education in 2015, according to local authorities.

The prefecture will build and upgrade 165 kindergartens in administrative villages containing more than 2,000 people. The government of Linxia will also work to attract high-caliber teachers and increase pre-school teacher trainings. The government is committed to balancing the education resources between urban and rural areas and is focused on making pre-school education accessible to children from impoverished families of minor ethnic groups.

Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture has implemented its policy of free pre-school education since 2014. In the past year, all public and private pre-schools have been made free of charge to local children, amounting to tuition fees and book fees worth 50 million yuan ($8.06 million). The amount of children studying in kindergarten increased from 30,000 in 2014 to more than 54,000 in 2015.

The Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture is located in the southwest of Gansu province. A large amount of its residents live in poverty and have low levels of education. The government seeks to improve education levels by providing free pre-school education. People from 31 ethnic groups live in the prefecture and those from minor ethnic groups make up more than half of the overall population.