Letters and Blogs

Make rural teaching an attractive job

Several days ago, Tuo Lanlan, an excellent graduate from Beijing-based China Agricultural University, came to a township secondary school in Fengdu county, a national poverty county in Chongqing municipality. Before deciding to go teaching in the rural area, she rejected two decent jobs with high salaries offered by companies based in Beijing. On learning of her choice, her boyfriend deserted her immediately and all her acquaintances thought she was mad. All this did not stop her. In her eyes, only by teaching in backward rural areas can she feel fulfilled and repay the society.

After reading her story, though I felt that her choice was noble and great, it is hard to follow suit at present. Her choice is against the current trend of job hunting. Most people in rural areas are fighting tooth and tail to leave their hometowns and find a better life in cities, let alone students from cities. Due to the financial crisis, jobs are harder to find, but students would rather linger in cities without jobs than go to rural areas where talents are needed. Against this background, anyone who would like to work in rural areas is considered an aberration.