Teaching Skills in Primary and Middle Schools Need Improving

It's never too old to learn. Life-long learning is required in modern society, even for teachers.

China's National Training Program for teachers of Primary School and Middle School has just been carried out comprehensively. It includes the National Exemplary Training for teachers of primary school and middle school, as well as Training for Rural Backbone Teachers in the mid-west. Zhang Ru has the details.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance have jointly launched the 2010 National Training Program for teachers of Primary School and Middle School. Chen Xiaoya, Vice Minister of Education, says training for teachers has far reaching influence.

"The ability of a teacher is the key to the enhancement of education quality. It is directly related to the implementation of quality-oriented education, the realization of a fair education, the growth of our children, as well as the future of our country."

Li Guang, Director of the Teacher Education Research Center from Northeast Normal University, says that the present teaching team in China is distributed haphazardly.

"There are plenty of middle school and primary school teachers in cities. However, it's not the same situation at the township level. Most normal graduates do not like to work in counties or villages. At the same time, some rural schools cannot afford to enroll new teachers. "

Meanwhile, Bao Chuanyou, Professor of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, says that teaching skills in general need improving.

"The educational background of the teaching team has improved a lot over the past 20 years. However, with the development of the new curriculum reform, the skills of teachers, especially in the mid-west regions of China, have not improved."

Chen Xiaoya, Vice Minister of Education, says it is an urgent task to improve the quality of teachers, especially those in rural areas, to promote a fair and balanced development of compulsory education.

It is reported that 550 million Yuan, or over 80 million US dollars, will be put into this project.

For CRI, I'm Zhang Ru.