Cradle of teachers: University in Ningxia sheds light on education dreams

"During my junior and senior high school years, many of my teachers were graduates from this university. This is my teachers' alma mater," said Gao Guangsheng, head of the development and planning department of Ningxia Normal University.

The university is located in Yuanzhou district, Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is part of Xihaigu, once deemed the "most unfit place for human settlement" by the United Nations in the 1970s.

Xihaigu, a largely mountainous area in southern Ningxia, was one of the poorest regions in China due to scarce rainfall, excessive reclamation, and a vulnerable ecological environment. In Nov. 2020, the region shook off poverty.

Photo taken in the 1970s shows students in front of the school gate of Ningxia Normal University's predecessor in Heicheng township, Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Ningxia Normal University)

Back in 1975, the university's predecessor was established in Heicheng township, Guyuan. It covered only a dozen mu (one mu equals about 667 square meters) and had just a dozen classrooms. Despite such unfavorable conditions, it managed to train 160 teachers and 40 education administrators in the first three years, giving a strong impetus to the region's basic education, Gao said.

In 2013, the university was designated as the only pilot institution in Ningxia for a government-funded program dedicated to training quality teachers to serve the needs of basic education in the autonomous region. Other similar programs were launched in the following years to provide free education for those committed to becoming teachers.

"The past decade has seen the number of students enrolling in these programs grow from 100 to 500 annually, with 3,000 in total," said Wang Peng, director of the university's office of student affairs, adding that a majority of these students go back to their hometowns after graduation, mostly in rural or remote areas of Ningxia.

"Statistics show that around 75 percent teachers serving in Guyuan's basic education sector graduated from our university," Wang noted.

He said these students have won high recognition from the schools where they work, as their rustic backgrounds endow them with more perseverance and a better understanding of what local learners need most.

"We've designed a specialized curriculum for students who are admitted to government-funded programs that target basic education in less developed areas, particularly rural ones," said Hao Fusheng, director of the university's faculty development and research center.

A diverse range of courses with local cultural elements are integrated into the overall curriculum, which are essential for these future instructors as they prepare to serve the local community, Hao added.

Aerial photo taken in 2023 shows the campus of Ningxia Normal University in Yuanzhou district, Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Ningxia Normal University)

From the initial five undergraduate programs to the current 48, nearly half of them set up to train qualified teachers, the university now registers over 10,000 students, about 70 percent of whom are ready to work in the education field.

The university lives up to its reputation as a "cradle of teachers" tucked away in southern Ningxia's mountainous area.

Zhao Lei, an English-major junior from the university, has witnessed how Guyuan's education has been beefed up. He said some local elementary schools saw understaffed English classes when he was a child, but things are currently much better.

"I hope to become an English teacher who can help students learn more about the foreign cultures behind the language and broaden their horizons," Zhao said.

"More and more young people are joining the teacher corps in Guyuan, especially in some towns and villages," said Yang Weizong, a Guyuan local and an English major in his third year of college, adding that he wants to go back at his middle school to work in the future.

"Being a preschool teacher can be a demanding job, but it also brings me a warm feeling when I'm surrounded by children," said Hua Xu, a senior majoring in preschool education at the university's school of education and science, when talking about his internship experience at a kindergarten.

Throughout more than 40 years, the university has moved the campus three times and changed its name four times, reflecting the improvement in the environment for students and faculty members and the bigger role it plays in improving Ningxia's education.

Photo taken in 2023 shows a class at Ningxia Normal University in Yuanzhou district, Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Ningxia Normal University)