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Teachers Back to School to Train
China's ten million primary and middle school teachers will get a look at the classroom from the other side of the desk when they became students in a bid to improve teaching quality.
The move is part of a provision that requires teachers to go on training programs every five years to update their skills, according to today's China Daily.
A total of ten million teachers will all receive professional training within the next five years, said Ma Li, director of the Department for Teacher Training and Education under the Ministry of Education.
The participants will attend part-time classes to learn how to improve their teaching methods in such subjects as Chinese, English, mathematics, physics and biology.
In addition, they will also learn about psychology so they can understand their students better, said Ma.
Harsh treatment and physical punishment have been met out by some teachers with poor training and have led to tragedies, such as students committing suicide over the past few years.
Upgrading teachers competence and morality is a priority of the central government and the ministry, officials said.
According to ministry's statistics, nearly 95 percent of teachers in primary schools, 83 percent in junior middle schools and 64 in senior middle schools have received State-set qualifications.
We urgently need to improve teacher proficiency because they play a vital role in raising the skills of Chinese citizens, Ma said.
Ma also said that the education background of newly-employed primary and middle school teachers will meet higher learning institution level by 2010.
At present, the academic standards of primary and middle school teachers range from senior middle school to college level, sources at the ministry said.
In rural and less developed areas, many school teachers have had a poorer education, but still hold teaching positions because they are needed.
China implemented the Regulation of Teacher Quality in 1995 to upgrade teaching. And the country will fully establish a teaching qualification system in the next few years
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