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Lack of balance in school resources stresses teachers
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AS China celebrated its 30th Teachers’ Day on Wednesday, experts warned that imbalanced distribution of education resources is harming the teachers’ interests.
On Tuesday, about 70 teachers at a middle school in central China’s Hubei Province went on strike in front of their school to express discontent about unfair treatment and welfare arrangements, as they are not regarded as permanent teachers on the school’s payroll like other teachers in the same school.
“Eager expansion has pushed some schools to enroll too many students, more than their normal capacity. In these cases, some of the schools have to resort to such ‘off-staff’ teachers,” says Yang Rongwei, a researcher of the Institute of Educational Science at Hunan University.
Parents are on a continuous hunt for a top school suitable for their child, and that has sometimes resulted in overcrowded schools. Earlier media reports revealed that some middle schools in central China’s Henan Province have more than 10,000 faculty and students, and in one school, the number even exceeded 20,000.
In Beijing, the price for a home that will allow children to enter a famous primary school nearby can cost 200,000 yuan (US$32,000) per square meter or more, over three times the price of comparable homes without such privilege.
To curb irregularities in student admission procedures, China’s education ministry has repeatedly stressed the rule that students should be enrolled in schools near their homes during the nine years of compulsory education from primary to junior middle schools.
Earlier this year, the ministry issued a strongly worded circular banning primary schools from enrolling students from outside their neighborhood.
However, the surge in nearby home prices indicates access to good schools are still a huge draw for parents and students, one they are willing to pay big money for.
“Good schools have an advantage over other schools in terms of favorable financial backing and other support from the administrative organs, making them more attractive to good teachers, and this ‘winner-takes-all’ effect further exacerbates the contending among schools as well as among students,” Yang says.
Yang disagrees with the “jungle law” in the education sector.
“Government should do its share to rectify the imbalance, such as granting more favorable conditions for schools in less-developed areas,” he says.
Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow with the National Institute of Education Sciences, proposed more rotation programs for teachers among different schools and regions to make abundant resources accessible for more students.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said more work is needed in poor western, rural, remote and island areas.
He promised education would be a priority, with increased government input and more reform.
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