100 5 Rural Teacher Issues
there are defects in the structured salary system. The preferential policy in sup-
porting rural and remote area teachers has not been implemented evenly. Although
teachers’ salaries have increased, teachers interviewed think that their salary is
low and unmatched with the development of the national economy and the heavy
workload they undertake. According to the “National Supervision Report on
Education 2008”, in 2006, the average annual salary was 17,729 yuan for primary
school teachers and 20,979 yuan for secondary school teachers, which are 5198
yuan and 1948 yuan lower than that for civil servants respectively (National Office
of Educational Inspection 2008 ).
5.4.2 Discrepancies in Salaries Between Poorer
and Developed Areas
Firstly, among the three case study areas, Tongzhou primary school teachers’ sala-
ries average about 2430 yuan and are higher than their counterparts in Ansai who
averaged 1380 yuan at the time of the fieldwork. Zhaojue primary school teach-
ers’ average salary is 2290 yuan monthly which is also much higher than their
counterparts in Ansai. Zhaojue enjoys favorable treatment of teachers to incen-
tivize them to work in the area. Ansai’s economic situation and the state revenue
have improved rapidly as a result of the exploitation of oil, gas and coal. However,
teachers’ salaries have yet to catch up with these developments.
Secondly, it is evident that regional disparities exist in teachers’ living and
working conditions. With better economic development, Tongzhou provides better
conditions to their teachers. Over 90 % of teachers who work in Xiji central pri-
mary school live in Tongzhou district town. The district government provides reg-
ular buses for teachers to commute between home and school for free. The school
pays for the petrol and drivers’ salary. In addition, the schools also provide accom-
modation for the single teachers and those teachers who live far from school.
In contrast Zhaojue suffers from comparative poor economic development, the
teachers and students suffer from long distance from home and school. Xinbang
Hope primary school illustrates the problem. Since there is no office or accom-
modation at the school, the teachers have to live in the county town taking 2 h
every day to commute between home and school. As there is no school bus, they
have to take the only public transport operated privately. The teachers have to pay
for the fee—20 yuan (daily) by themselves adding up to 440 yuan a month. It is
a quite big expense for the primary teachers whose monthly salary is only around
2000 yuan. Kuyi township central school also has the same problem. The major-
ity of teachers live far from school so that they have to take 1 h to go and fro.
The school only provides an accommodation for 15 % of the teachers. 60 % of the
teachers have to take bus to go to school and the rest choose to cycle or walk to
school on foot. The school itself cannot solve the issues of teachers’ housing and
transport.