Chinese minister explains how to improve education in poverty-stricken areas

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Improving the quality of education in rural and poverty-stricken areas is among China’s key tasks, the country’s Education Minister Chen Baosheng has said.

Chen made the remarks during a press conference about educational development in China on the sidelines of the ongoing Two Sessions, the country's most important annual political event.

The official spoke highly of the three million rural teachers who are the backbone of the national basic education team.

He highlighted the difficulties rural schools are facing and explained the host of measures the government is implementing to tackle these obstacles.

Chen Baosheng, Chinese Education Minister. /Photo from china.com.cn

China released a plan in 2015 with an aim to strengthen the construction of a team of rural teachers and support their work – the first such plan since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the minister noted.

According to the plan, Chen said the central government has provided more than 5.2 billion yuan (753 million US dollars) to aid 81,000 schools and some 1.3 million rural teachers have benefited from governmental support. Meanwhile, 400,000 houses were built for teachers working in remote villages and towns.

“We have encouraged college graduates to start their careers in rural areas,” Chen said, adding that the “policy has eased the pressure created by the dearth of teachers in these areas.”

In addition, Chen said the ministry has rewarded outstanding teachers for their strong sense of responsibility.

“1.06 million teachers who have been working for more than 30 years in rural areas have been bestowed with honor certifications,” Chen told the press, noting that the move is one way to improve their own sense of honor.

Photo from china.com.cn

Inspiring higher-level teachers to move to rural areas can help improve the quality of education, Chen said. He also talked about the importance of training teachers, especially headmasters.

He said that the ministry has organized 380 workshops to train headmasters in order to increase their abilities in management and teaching.

The minister hoped that more talented people gathering in the eastern part of the country could head toward the less developed western areas to help with local education.

“It is shameful that we didn’t solve the problem,” Chen said when a reporter raised a question about the shaky ladder that kids had to use to go to school in a cliff village in China’s southwestern Sichuan Province.

Chen Baosheng, Chinese Education Minister /Photo from china.com.cn‍

After apologizing, the minister pledged to devote more resources in the field of education as part of the country’s efforts to eliminate poverty with precision.

Chen stressed the need to change parents’ perceptions in poverty-stricken areas that education is not necessary for their children.

The photo taken on May 14, 2016 shows children climbing up a cliff on a vine ladder to an isolated village on the top of a mountain in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. /CFP Photo

The minister also called for more investment in rural areas to complete infrastructure building and allocate financial aids more precisely to targeted poor families.

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