China wins applaud for progress in education

China has made positive contributions to improving quality of education in rural areas by incentivizing teachers and providing quality training to educators, said a UNESCO official.

Carlos Miguel Vargas, chief of UNESCO's section for teacher development and teacher task force secretariat, made the remarks during the launch of the United Nations secretary-general's high-level panel on the teaching profession in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Feb 26.

The panel was established by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate the gaps in the education system. The UN Sustainable Development Goals call on countries to ensure that they have achieved inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. Vargas said China is one of the countries that have done well in improving education in rural areas and providing incentives for teachers who wish to teach in those areas.

"There is progress in China in terms of rural education. In terms of government programs, there is accessibility of housing facilities for rural teachers for the best teacher in urban areas to move to the rural areas. The teachers would be part of the community as they will spend time with the community and respond to the needs of that community. There are housing subsidies for teachers in rural areas," Vargas told China Daily.

He explained that UNESCO has established a center in China, which supports education in rural areas. The provision of accommodation for teachers ensures that teachers are integrated into the society, Vargas said.

"There is a measure which was implemented recently in Shanghai about pensionable remuneration for teachers. When they retire, they receive 100 percent of their salary that they had while in service and that makes it higher than any other public servants in the country," he said.

Collaboration highlighted

Wang Jiayi, vice-minister of education in China, also addressed the meeting via video. He said collaboration with multilateral bodies like UNESCO and other countries would help to improve the standard of education. China has improved the standard of education by building more colleges and training of teachers.

Wang explained that China has made great efforts to improve education in rural areas, including using various measures to attract more teachers to teach in rural areas. Wang said the education has focused on areas like science, technology and innovation to improve education.

UNESCO recommended that public education should be funded to at least 6 percent of GDP and 20 percent of total government expenditure. Over 44 million teachers are needed all over the world for primary and secondary education by 2030.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.