Students attend a Tibetan class at the Qamdo Experimental Primary School in Qamdo, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 5, 2020. [Xinhua/Jigme Dorje]

LHASA, March 22 (Xinhua) — Children from underprivileged backgrounds in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region can now pursue extracurricular classes free of cost.

Earlier this month 280 teenagers in the regional capital Lhasa were enrolled in a one-year training program involving 12 extracurricular classes, and every weekend, hobby classes in sports, science and technology, calligraphy, painting, and dancing are offered under this initiative.

The Tibetan youth education base recently conducted free recruitment, giving priority to children from low-income households.

Yeshe Kuntse, 42, sent his daughter Tenzin Kela to the region's youth palace, one of the educational venues of the base. The 8-year-old girl is passionate about dance and was successfully admitted to a free dancing course.

"We were delighted to learn that our daughter had been recruited and that she may have an opportunity to perform at the children's show of the region this year," Yeshe Kuntse said.

Dronme, a dance instructor at the base, believes that these classes will pique children's interest in traditional Tibetan dance, thereby contributing to the popularization of the local culture.

Norbu Wangdrak, 13, is a basketball enthusiast who is currently receiving coaching at the education base. The 173-cm-tall lad wishes to make more friends and improve his skills.

Tsewang Tashi, 8, a student in the robot programming class, said that he aspires to design and create his own 'transformers' by acquiring knowledge through these classes.

The Tibetan youth education base is the region's only comprehensive multi-purpose after-school education facility that integrates talent development and cultural exchanges, said Huang Zheng, director of the base.

Since the establishment of the center in 2010, it has organized 240 educational training camps, summer camps and various extracurricular classes for young people in the region, training more than 100,000 teenagers.

(Source: Xinhua)