BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Sangye Gyatso, a Sherpa in Bangcun Village, Zham Township of Nylam County, southern Tibet, is proud of the two college students in his family.

The 43-year Sherpa cannot help getting excited whenever talking about his 22-year-old son, Losang, the second college student in his family. Gyatso's younger brother is the first college student in his family.

"I was just as excited as my son when we together crossed the university gate," the father recalled, standing in front of his three-story house equipped with a whole range of electric appliances.

Being a sophomore, Losang majors in English in a university in Lhasa and longs to become an English teacher in the future. "Nowadays people love traveling and English will be very useful for me," he said.

Zham Township, a place famous for port of entry trade, has witnessed substantial development in education. So far, Bangcun Village has had ten college students, according to Norbu, head of the Villagers' Committee.

Gyatso said he should be grateful to the Regional Government for its preferential educational policies. The government covers food and accommodation expenses of the students and exempts their tuition during the nine-year compulsory education period, thus saving him a lot of money.

All schooling-age children in Bangcun Village are required to study in schools and the Regional Department of Civil Affairs will subsidize poor children, according to Norbu.

"Children are not only the hope of every family but the future of Sherpas," Norbu said.