China said on Tuesday it would waive part of the tuition fees for students from the western Qinghai area which was earlier devastated by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education said in a statement that senior high school and college students who are residents of the quake-hit region do not have to pay their tuitions fees of at least 4,200 yuan (617 U.S. dollars) for one school year and will receive living allowances ranging between 1,000 yuan and 1,500 yuan a year.

The new measure will apply during the period between April 2010 and July 2011.

The quake, which took place on April 14 this year with the epicenter being at the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, left 2,698 people dead and 270 missing.