BEIJING -- More than 63,000 Chinese students have been enrolled in a tuition-free bachelor program in medicine, part of the country's efforts to improve medical services in its central and western regions.

The program was aimed to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas, the Ministry of Education said at a press conference Wednesday. After graduation, the enrollees will be recruited by medical institutions in rural areas in the country's central and western regions.

According to the ministry, other education programs have been launched to attract university students to devote themselves to the country's drive to invigorate the development of rural regions.