84 4 Nine Year Compulsory Education ...
reduction of disparities within a framework that may need to be more flexible
than simply building more and more large boarding schools.- Teacher recruitment and deployment are still problematic. The training and
appointment and retention of teachers is central to a stable and effective educa-
tion system. There are more Yi teachers now in the system than twenty years
ago but there could be more. Not only do they have Yi language competence
as well as Chinese they may also be more likely to stay and build careers in
the schools. The age distribution of teachers remains predominantly skewed to
young teachers after twenty years, suggesting there is significant attrition in mid
career. - Pupil teacher ratios and class sizes are very unevenly distributed. Large schools
have large and very large classes though they may have surprisingly low pupil
teacher ratios. Small rural schools can have very small classes and some have
low pupil teacher ratios. Where teachers are unwilling to be posted some rural
schools may have very large pupil teacher ratios. Zhaojue is urbanizing and it
is likely that more places will be needed in town schools which are planned
to increase to 6000 at primary and 5600 at junior secondary in 2015. These
schools already have the largest class sizes. The disparities that now exist were
foreshadowed twenty years ago. They seem to have persisted and may have
worsened. More even distribution would lead to more equitable access. - The formal age of entry remains at seven years though some six year olds enter
town schools. The reasons for this are unclear. It costs no more to attend school
at six than at seven. But the loss of a year’s schooling at an age where learning
is most rapid is something that cannot be replaced. This, coupled with the per-
sistence of overage children in the system in large numbers, leads to a need to
act to ensure earlier enrolment and progression on schedule for age. This might
reduce dropout rates amongst overage children, especially girls. - Preschool provision is largely absent in Zhaojue except in the town. Some larger
schools are opening pre-schools which are fee paying and revenue generating.
The gap between children who have access to pre-school, and who are likely to
enter grade 1 at six rather than seven years, and those who have no pre-school-
ing, may result in a further widening of opportunity between those children with
a head start, and those without. - The position of girls appears to have improved since 1990. However, they are
still under represented in enrolments. More needs to be done to increase the
chances of participation through to the end of junior secondary. Though there
are some girls only classes in some schools, these seem to be arranged on an ad
hoc basis with no clear programme of support, and no systematic tracking and
monitoring to establish whether they make any difference, and if so what is it
that makes the difference. Since these classes have existed for two decades they
should be evaluated and either generalized across schools and grades if they
make a difference, or abandoned if they do not. - The practice of creating special classes for HIV/AIDs orphans appears to lack a
clear and consistent rationale. It may have pedagogic and social psychological
benefits for those lucky enough to be selected but this needs to be demonstrated.