The state supports higher education development in the minority areas through measures such as "paired-up" educational support for institutions of higher learning in western China, cooperating with local authorities to co-found institutions of higher learning in areas inhabited by the ethnic minorities, strengthening the establishment of special disciplines and degrees, and expanding enrolment. At present, in the minority areas there are 167 general institutions of higher learning, with 77,000 teachers and 1.235 million students. The state renders great support to the development of vocational education in the minority areas. In 2008,the central government invested 827 million yuan in the five autonomous regions, helped build 83 county-level vocational education centers and secondary vocational schools for demonstration purposes, as well as 145 practical training bases of vocational schools and 10 international demonstration vocational higher schools; and allocated 974 million yuan as a state stipend for students of secondary vocational schools in the five autonomous regions, financially aiding over 830,000 students, accounting for 90 percent of the students attending these schools.

Through 60 years of efforts, the educational undertakings in the minority areas have scored considerable achievements. By the end of 2008, the number of minority students attending schools of all levels and all types in the whole country amounted to 21.996 million, among which the number of minority students attending general primary schools was 10.708 million, accounting for 10.4 percent of all such students; the number of minority students attending general secondary schools was 6.802 million, making up 8.5 percent; and the number of minority students attending general institutions of higher learning was 1.339 million, making up 6.2 percent of all such students. The overall cultural quality of the minority peoples has achieved significant improvement. According to the fifth national census in 2000, for 14 ethnic minorities, including the Korean, Manchu, Mongolian and Kazak, the number of years of education has surpassed the national average. At present, there are university students from all the 55 ethnic groups, and for about a dozen ethnic groups, including the Uyghur, Hui, Korean and Naxi, the average number of university students per 10,000 people has already surpassed the national average.