Impressive progress made 40 years on from first Teachers' Day

China has made significant achievements in teacher development over the past 40 years since the country established Teachers' Day in 1985, an education expert said.

Li Yongzhi, head of the Chinese National Academy of Educational Sciences, said the number of full-time teachers in China has doubled from approximately 9.32 million in 1985 to 18.92 million last year.

Educational qualifications have improved, too, with 78 percent of primary school teachers holding at least a bachelor's degree last year, up 45 percentage points since 2012. For middle school teachers, the figure has reached 93 percent, an increase of 22 percentage points over the same period, Li said.

"A notable rise was seen in the number of senior teachers, including 28,125 appointed to senior positions in primary and secondary schools," he said.

China's teacher education system has evolved during the past decades, now comprising 226 normal (teaching) universities and nearly 600 related institutions.

Management reforms have further strengthened the teaching profession. The implementation of the Teacher Law in 1993 and recent government documents have created a robust framework for teacher management, contributing to a more equitable distribution of teaching resources across urban and rural areas, Li said.

An awarding system for teachers has been built, including titles of the "Most Beautiful Teacher", "National Excellent Teacher", and "National Model Teacher".

Ten individuals and Beihang University's electromagnetic compatibility teaching team were honored as the Most Beautiful Teachers of 2024 on the 40th Teachers' Day in September.

Teacher compensation has also improved, with salaries for nine-year compulsory education teachers now matching local civil service averages.

Teachers have played a crucial role in the development of education, technology and talent cultivation in China, guiding the growth of 190 million primary and secondary school students.

"A large number of rural teachers are guarding the safety and growth of children in villages, playing a fundamental role in poverty alleviation and rural vitalization efforts," Li said.

In addition, educators from higher education institutes have made a major contribution to the country's high-level scientific innovation, with over 40 percent of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering working at universities.

Lin Zhanxi, a professor from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in Fujian province, once received a globe map with every location that the juncao technology that he helped develop, marked on it as a gift from his students on a Teachers' Day.

As a pioneer of juncao technology, a sustainable agricultural practice that involves cultivating mushroom grass along with edible fungi, Lin has dedicated years of hard work to conducting research in the toughest environments and promoting the technology where it is most needed.

Lin didn't apply for a patent as the inventor of this technology because he thought it would be better to lower the barriers for poverty alleviation technology. He also simplified the technology to make it more accessible to ensure farmers can easily understand the method.

Last year, about two-thirds of the National Science and Technology Awards were led by university teachers, according to the Ministry of Education.

The new guideline on strengthening the construction of a high-quality professional teaching workforce has promised a strong foundation for advancing education in the new era, said Li, head of the educational science academy.

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