Kashgar University, the first comprehensive university in southern Xinjiang, is now under construction, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The southern part of Xinjiang borders on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, is mainly Uygur and is substantially less developed than the northern part of the region. Most locals are farmers and herdsmen.

The southern Xinjiang with a population of some 10 million has only two higher learning institutes -- Kashgar Normal University and Alar Tarim University. Kashgar Normal offers 27 disciplines, mainly linguistics and teaching.

Erken Umer, principal of the new university, believes southern Xinjiang has an urgent need for qualified people in industrial, medical and management fields. The new university will provide courses in international trade, business administration, architecture, tourism and hotel management as well as basic sciences and arts.

Erkenjan Tulahun, member of the local standing committee of the Communist Party, expects the university to adjust the industrial structure of southern Xinjiang.

Preparations for the Kashgar University began after a meeting on May 28, which was attended by President Xi Jinping. Xi recognizes the strong need in Xinjiang for better education facilities, more children in schools, and programs to deal with poverty in rural and border areas.

Shenzhen in Guangdong Province is a partner city to Kashgar and has donated 1 billion yuan (162.5 million US dollars), half of the planned budget, to support the university. In the next three years, the 45 hectare campus will take shape and building work will continue till 2020.

The meeting also decided provide free high school education in southern Xinjiang to lift the enrollment rate and prevent students being brainwashed by extremists. (To stay up to date with the latest China news, follow XHNews on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/XHNews and Xinhua News Agency on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/XinhuaNewsAgency.)