The University of Tibet, created by merging Tibet University, Tibet Medical College and Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, is growing once again.
New campus will be built and more students will be enrolled under a plan submitted to the central government for approval.
If approved, the central government will invest 600 million yuan (US$72.29 million) in the projects.
Preparations for the expansion began when Vice-Premier Li Lanqing pledged major support for the construction of the University of Tibet in August 2000.
Transforming the university into an excellent scholastic venue was the goal set at the fourth national meeting on Tibet convened by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council in June 2001.
The government of the Tibet Autonomous Region has also included the university's expansion in its key projects for the 10th Five-Year-Plan period (2001-2005).
Under the plan, the new campus would be on the eastern suburbs of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It would cover an area of 120.9 hectares -- six times larger than the current grounds -- and accommodate 10,000 students.
Liu Qinghui, university president, said the emphasis curricula would shift from liberal arts to engineering to better conform to the economic and social development demands of Tibet.
Specific curricula will include information engineering, transport, civil engineering and architecture, water and soil conservation, desertification control and agricultural resources and environment, Liu said.
Courses in the traditional subjects of Tibetan studies and arts will remain.
The University of Tibet now has 3,500 students and 794 teachers in eight departments.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2002 )
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