Teachers’ Day: China’s rural areas call for more talents, educational resources

World
Europe

03:45

Today also marks China's 34th Teachers' Day, a special occasion to honor educators across the nation. The country has made noticeable progress in educational reform, but being a teacher shortage remains a big problem in rural areas. In a remote village in Yunnan Province, a teacher has persevered for many years in the face of very limited resources. CGTN reporter Yang Jinghao has the story.

With all of his students crammed in one shabby classroom at this school, Li Guangyou has to split each class into two parts - teaching math to first-graders during the first half, and then teaching the Chinese language to second-graders later.

LI GUANGYOU TEACHER, HUANGLIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL "Of course it's tiring. But I still feel happy staying with these children, especially when they make progress or perform well on exams at the end of each semester."

Li started teaching here as a substitute teacher in the early 1990s. He later left to seek employment across the country. Years ago, he returned and picked up from where he left off, as none of the regular teachers dispatched here during the period were able to endure the hardships of a poor and remote village.

LI GUANGYOU TEACHER, HUANGLIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL "When I came back, I realized that our development has largely lagged behind the outside world due to the backward education standards and outdated concepts. I didn't want to see our children drop out."

In recent years, China has seen a significant drop in the number of rural schools as many are now merging with schools in larger towns. This is part of a campaign to optimize resources.

But it has brought hardship to many pupils living in mountainous or remote areas, who need to trek for hours to even reach their classroom. At the request of the parents, Li's school partly survived, and he spent all his savings building a new schoolhouse last year to replace the former makeshift classroom.

LI GUANGYOU TEACHER, HUANGLIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL "It's worthwhile to do this. I believe that when I can't teach any more one day, the students I've taught will remember me, and even their descendants will not forget my efforts here."

As the only teacher in a village inhabited by ethnic Miao people, Li takes all subjects and teaches in both Mandarin Chinese and the Miao language so that youngsters will better adapt to new environments when they transfer to schools in town. And his bilingual teaching makes him even more irreplaceable.

YANG JINGHAO ZHAOTONG, YUNNAN PROVINCE "The nation's education system has made much progress over the past few decades. But many elementary schools in vast rural areas are still faced with big challenges, like insufficient educational resources, and qualified teachers. Now, the teacher issue has drawn the attention of authorities."

In late August, the Ministry of Education announced a plan to expand the teaching staff in resource-scarce areas, including attracting more college graduates to village schools. It also pledged to improve salaries for teachers working in these areas.

Li says he just hopes the local education department can build a toilet for them and a house where the kids can get warm by the fire. But the most urgent thing at the moment is that a young teacher would like to work here. Yang Jinghao, CGTN, Yunnan Province.