China has decided to offer students from the southern areas of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region bonus points that will be added to the total scores of their national college examination, also known as gaokao, to give them a better chance of obtaining a place at a college or university.

The move is part of the central government's plan to let more students from southern Xinjiang have the opportunity to receive higher education, said Sun Hongxin, director of the Xinjiang admissions office.

Han Chinese students from Xinjiang's Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu and Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefectures will receive 10 extra points. The bonus points for students of 11 ethnic groups including Uygur, Kazak, Kirghiz and Uzbek would increase from 10 to 50 this year if they have taken the gaokao in Mandarin - China's official language.