Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine:

Without a strong teaching workforce, a powerful education system is impossible. Building a strong teaching workforce is the most important foundational work for building China's strength in education. What are the achievements made in this regard? Additionally, what are your considerations for the next step and what measures will you take? Thank you.

Huai Jinpeng:

In education, how to enhance the teaching workforce is a matter of common concern and represents the most fundamental issue. We kindly invite Mr. Deng Chuanhuai to answer the questions.

Deng Chuanhuai:

Thank you for your questions. A great nation needs a strong education system, and by extension, a powerful teaching workforce. Teachers are the most important resource for education development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed significant importance on developing the teaching workforce and showed deep care for teachers and other educational workers. Throughout the years, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the MOE has comprehensively deepened reforms in building the teaching workforce in the new era. Both the quantity and quality of the teaching workforce have significantly improved. From 2012 to 2022, the total number of full-time teachers in China increased from 14.629 million to 18.804 million. The percentage of rural compulsory education teachers with a bachelor's degree or above has reached 76.01%. Teacher training is jointly provided by 225 normal universities and 565 non-normal universities. The personnel arrangement for faculty and staff in primary and secondary schools has met standards at the provincial, prefectural, and county level. National honors have been awarded to outstanding individuals, such as "People's Educator" title awarded to Yu Yi, Wei Xinghua, and Gao Mingxuan, and the "July 1 Medal" granted to Zhang Guimei. Teachers such as Li Baoguo, Huang Danian, Zhang Yugun, Chen Liqun, Wu Rongjin, Liu Yongtan, and Wan Buyan have been recognized as "Role Model of the Times." In recent years, the political status, social standing, and professional standing of teachers have continuously improved. Teachers have devoted themselves to nurturing students. They have demonstrated a love for teaching and their students and a dedication to educating people, making significant contributions to the Party and the country's cause.

As time progresses, the status and role of teachers become increasingly prominent. To offer support in building China's strength in education, the MOE has initiated a strategic project to improve the quality of the teaching workforce, focusing on six aspects: First, we will strengthen teachers' professional ethics and conduct by combining high-level guidance with bottom-line management, establishing a common value pursuit among teachers, upholding "zero tolerance" for violations of professional ethics, and guiding teachers to exercise self-discipline and self-improvement. Second, we will launch a national plan to cultivate excellent primary and secondary school teachers in top-tier comprehensive universities, and promote science curriculum teacher training in such universities as represented by the ones involved with developing world-class universities and disciplines. Third, we will maintain that the primary responsibility of normal universities is to train teachers, implement coordinated plans to enhance the quality of teacher education, optimize policies for government-sponsored teacher education, and deepen the implementation of the targeted training plan for improving the performance of primary and middle school teachers in underdeveloped areas in China's central and western regions. Fourth, we will enhance teachers' ability of disseminating knowledge and nurturing souls, and improve the training of high-level primary and secondary school teachers. We will also reform the national training program for primary and secondary school teachers, enhance scientific literacy among them, implement digital initiatives for teacher development, and implement programs for cultivating reputable teachers and principals. We will also strengthen training of university teachers and build teaching teams at universities nationwide following the role model of Huang Danian. Fifth, we must optimize teacher management and resource allocation to address new population development trends. Focusing on the national pilot reform for improving teaching workforce in basic education, we will promote comprehensive reforms in training and recruitment, staffing, professional ranks and titles, salary and benefits, and job positions. We will adapt to the needs of small-class and personalized teaching, and optimize teaching resource allocation. Additionally, we should prioritize building the rural teaching workforce, introduce management measures for vocational school part-time teachers, deepen the reform of university teacher assessment and evaluation, and implement various plans to improve education in underdeveloped areas, such as recruiting retired good teachers and letting educational personnel work in teams to be more helpful. Sixth, we will make more efforts to ensure the welfare of all types of teachers at all levels. We will consolidate the achievement of ensuring that the average wage income of compulsory education teachers is no lower than that of local civil servants, improve policies for rural teachers' living allowances, strengthen teacher housing security, and provide transitional accommodation for rural teachers.

The general secretary has repeatedly pointed out that encountering a good teacher is a blessing in one's life while having good teachers in a school brings glory to the institution, and a nation that continuously produces excellent teachers is hopeful. The MOE is committed to implementing the decisions and arrangements made by the general secretary and the CPC Central Committee regarding building a strong teaching workforce. We will take more effective measures to build a strong teaching workforce in the new era, promote a social atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education, and encourage and attract more outstanding talents to be devoted teachers, really put their mind to teaching, and be willing to teach for their entire life.

Thank you all!

Chen Wenjun:

Last question, please.