About 10,000 high school graduates from China's 680 impoverished counties of 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities will receive preferential treatment to enter the country's top universities, the China Youth Daily reported Tuesday.

The Ministry of Education announced on its website the additional 10,000 entrants will not affect regular enrollment at the elite universities. The plan will last for five years from May 2012.

The new policy requires candidates should be locals and studied for three years at a local high school and passed China's college entrance examination. The local education bureaus and police stations will work together to make sure all candidates meet the required standard, the report said.

The enrolled students cannot change their majors at universities and are encouraged to work in their hometowns after graduation. They can also enjoy student's subsidies as well, the report said.

According to the report, the top universities will have an additional 10 percent of students to their roster to help more than one million candidates in China's impoverished areas.