LHASA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 7,200 students from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have benefited from student grants by the region's trade union since 2002.

So far, more than 20 million yuan (2.82 million U.S. dollars) in student grants has been given out since a financial aid campaign targetted children of workers in need, the trade union said.

This year, the trade union plans to allocate 324,800 yuan to 45 students across the region. Students in universities within the region will be awarded 4,800 yuan each, and those studying outside Tibet will be given 8,000 yuan each, an increase of 2,800 yuan and 4,000 yuan from the previous year respectively.

Losang Jigme, chairman of the trade union, said the campaign is an important measure to alleviate poverty through education, and it is necessary to continue to expand the campaign to benefit more students.