Awards honor rural teachers' contributions

Beijing Normal University is honoring 10 teachers from rural areas for their significant contributions to education, with the top educator receiving 500,000 yuan ($80,550), the university's Party chief said on Sunday.

The university launched the Qigong Teachers Award in fall 2014, named after its late distinguished professor Qigong. Since last September, it has been collecting information about candidates from various channels, including recommendations from peers and self-recommendations.

Candidates are required to have more than 30 years of teaching experience in rural schools.

The university will send out 84 student volunteers, led by teachers, to interview candidates starting May and select 20 candidates by the end of July.

Of those, the award committee will pick 10 candidates who will receive the award on Teachers' Day, which falls on Sept 10.

Xiangxing Group, based in Fujian province, donated 50 million yuan to the award.

"The process of interviewing candidates is also a learning opportunity for our students," said Liu Chuansheng, the Party chief of the university, adding that the award will support rural education in China.

Tao Xiping, a distinguished education researcher, policymaker and member of the award committee, said teachers from rural areas are carrying heavy workloads but paid less than their urban counterparts.

"I myself used to teach in rural schools and I understand that they shoulder more work and responsibility ... they deserve respect from the whole of society," Tao said.

There were more than 100 million students and 6.2 million teachers from K-9 in rural areas last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Education.

China's top leaders have been focusing on reducing the education gap between urban and rural areas since 2012.

The central authorities, led by President Xi Jinping, rolled out plans to support rural teachers in April. Premier Li Keqiang also backed up rural education on multiple occasions.

Dong Qi, president of Beijing Normal University, which is widely considered to be a cradle of Chinese teachers, said he hoped that the award would become a top and long-lasting accolade to encourage teachers in rural areas and reward their contributions to education.