China offers free education to teachers of the future

China has decided to waive tuition fees for students training to become teachers at six elite teaching
universities, according to measures publicized by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday on its website.
From September this year when the autumn semester begins, tuition and accommodation fees will be
scrapped for freshmen majoring in education at six top teaching universities in Beijing, Shanghai, Changchun,
Wuhan, Xi'an and Chongqing. The students will also be granted an allowance.
The cost of the measure will be covered by the central budget, according to the trial program approved
by the State Council last week.
To be eligible for free tuition, the student must agree to work at a primary or middle school for at least ten
years after graduation and spend the first two years in a rural school.
Students who have a change of heart during their studies can choose another occupation on graduation,
according to the measures, but in this case they must pay back the tuition fees in full.
In the early 1990s, it was common practice for Chinese teaching colleges to offer free education. But as the
decade wore on, many teaching institutions started charging fees. At the same time, more and more teaching
graduates opted for non-teaching jobs after graduation.
Education at most universities -- tuition, accommodation and expenses -- costs a student an average of about
10,000 yuan (1,280 U.S. dollars) a year so the measures represent savings of about 40,000 yuan (5,120 dollars)
over a four-year course of study.
Reporting to the National People's Congress in March, Premier Wen Jiabao said the government will institute free
education for students majoring in education in teacher colleges directly under the Ministry of Education.
"The measure will demonstrate to the general public the importance of the teaching field, create an atmosphere
of respect for teachers and education in society, increase awareness of the value of the educational profession,
produce large numbers of outstanding teachers, encourage prominent educators to run schools and spur more
outstanding young people to become lifelong educators," Wen said.
Chinese educators said after experimenting the program in the six designated universities, the government is
expected to extend the measure to other normal universities.



Reform for teachers' pay system
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200812/20081222/article_385426.htm

CHINA is to adopt a new payment system for teachers in compulsory education to ensure they
are paid according to their performance, while their average pay will not be lower than that of civil servants.
At a recent executive meeting, the State Council approved a document on the implementation of the
results-and-performance-linked payment in schools of compulsory education.
The meeting said the reform was aimed at attracting and encouraging excellent talents to work in the
educational field for life, so as to promote the country's educational undertakings.
The new policy will begin on January 1.
Meanwhile, the government will give subsidies to retired teachers from schools of compulsory education.
The payment reform will be combined with the deepening of reforms on personnel management, funding
and fee collection, and financial management in compulsory schools, according to the Cabinet meeting.
The central government will give due assistance to the reform, while provincial governments will prepare
the funds. County-level governments will be responsible for carrying out the reform.


More highly qualified teachers attracted to work in China's rural areas
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/90879/6292728.html
China has recruited nearly 17,000 new teachers to serve in rural areas teaching children for their nine years'
compulsory education, according to Wang Xumin, Chinese Ministry of Education spokesman.
Of those 17,000, a total of 68.4 percent are university graduates, said Wang Xuming at a regular press conference
on Oct. 25. This represents an increase in graduate recruitment of 86 percent over the previous year.
China launched a special teaching program last year to encourage Chinese university graduates to act as teachers
in the rural areas for compulsory education including education at primary school and junior high school levels.
The program, co-funded by central and local governments, recruits college graduates to serve a three-year term in
rural schools and also offer them favorable policies for their future careers after they leave their teaching posts.
Under this program, the central government allocated 15,000 yuan (around 2,000 U.S. dollars) for each teacher
recruited, and if the average yearly income in certain areas is higher than 15,000 yuan, the local government must
allocate money to subsidize these teachers. And this year, the central government input has been increased to 18,960
yuan per person annually.
By now, 32,700 teachers have been recruited for the program, including 23,500 in junior high schools and 9,200 in primary schools.
"The quality of the teachers is crucial to education in rural areas and this program not only provides lots of qualified teachers
for rural schools, but is also an innovative way of recruiting teachers," Wang said.
The Party and central government has attached great importance to education in rural areas, he said.
"Since 2006, the central government has exempted rural students from tuition and miscellaneous fees for compulsory
education in central and western regions. This year, this policy has been expanded to all rural areas in the country," he noted.
Tuition fees range from 140 Yuan to 180 Yuan a year for primary schools, to 180 Yuan to 230 Yuan for junior high schools.



China's college teachers to be graded on results
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-03/06/content_6512711.htm
A new rating system will soon be introduced to grade college teachers based on their teaching and
research performance, replacing the long-standing practice of seniority-based titles at universities,
said a government notice yesterday.
Jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Personnel, the notice said college teaching
staff would be graded according to 13 additional levels, besides the present four positional titles of professor,
associate professor, lecturer and teaching assistant.
The different levels mean different income and treatment.
The new rating system will guarantee professors and lecturers treatment in accordance with their achievements.