Just as most high school graduates are anxiously checking their scores in the national college entrance examinations (gaokao), picking the universities they dream of attending, students in four regions of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region had their exciting news on Tuesday.

A new policy will allow graduates in Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Kirgiz of southern Xinjiang to have up to an extra 50 credits on their gaokao scores, according to their circumstances. For the 50 bonus points, students should have either one parent from 11 ethnic groups, including Uyghur, Mongolian and Tibetan. Besides, they need to be ethnic students taking the gaokao in the Chinese language, or taking Chinese as a first language but taking the gaokao in an ethnic language.

It is expected there will be a sharp uptick in admissions, as previously only a maximum of 10 extra points could be added for these students. 

Maintaining ethnic harmony in Xinjiang is a delicate task. When it involves the gaokao, an event that shapes the fate of high school graduates nationwide, the policy will have more far-reaching implications.

This local policy comes as similar nationwide university admission preferential policies have been reduced to ensure transparency and equality.

This included awarding points for extra-curricular activities. So the new policy in Xinjiang has sparked concern over whether this means inequality for Han students, the majority ethnic group in China.

These bonus point systems can be controversial due to perceived unfairness - a comparison is affirmative action in the US. But this special policy is tailored to the actual needs of Xinjiang to narrow the gap in education with the average level of the country.

With the policy, students from ethnic groups are given a strong boost to apply for elite universities and hence have opportunities to expand their horizons. They will form their own understanding based on the reality and not be subjected to ill-intended temptation.

As the latest policy specifies, it will also encourage indirectly different ethnic minorities and Han people to learn each others' languages and intermarry with each other, enhancing their mutual understanding. This will have far-reaching influence on the region when there are deliberate efforts by separatist forces to estrange Han people and other ethnic minorities, endangering Xinjiang's stability.

This is an active step to invigorate Xinjiang fundamentally and there may be new problems arising during the implementation. However, with guidance, Xinjiang will find ways to maintain its ethnic features, and meanwhile preserving its stability and prosperity.