Monastic graduates from these universities were also sent to the provinces to improve education in rural areas, a project which began between 1966 and 1970. They helped with local development projects as well as provided more traditional Buddhist guidance associated with scriptural study and meditation. Part of their role was also to convert rural peoples, such as the hill tribes in the north, to Buddhism. However, studies by the anthropologist Charles F. Keyes argued that these efforts mostly transmitted fragments of overt behavior, such as how to give alms to monks, without teaching proper Buddhist doctrine.