The students, including 22 living Buddhas, came from 128 monasteries in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. They began their studies in October 2011 when the institute opened.

The academy has a management team and faculty comprising of famous masters from different Buddhist sects, said Zhukang Tubdankezhub, president of the institute.

The curricula combined both traditional scripture-teaching and modern eduction, he added.

The institute provided a comfortable environment for learning and life and was equipped with excellent teachers, who improved our cultural and Buddhist knowledge, said Lodrogyalso Trinleylhundrup, a graduate and living Buddha.

The institute will start the construction of a school for nuns this year, according to Zhukang Tubdankezhub. It has already set up branches in large monasteries across the region to let more monks receive education.

The institute, Tibet's only regional-level Buddhist theological academy, is located in the township of Nyetang, Quxu County, which is administered by Lhasa.

More than 100 million yuan ($16.2 million) was invested in building the institute.