96 5 Rural Teacher Issues
In different areas, substitute teachers’ salaries are different. For example, the
substitute teachers’ salary in Zhaojue is less than their counterparts in Ansai. In
Aboluo primary school of Zhaojue, the substitute teacher’s salary is 400 yuan
monthly in 2010. It was only 300 yuan the year before and they can only get sal-
ary for 10 months a year. The official teachers’ monthly salary is about 1500 yuan,
much more than that for substitute teachers. The issues that relate to rural teachers
salaries are discussed in more detail in a later section.
Another difference in the treatment between official and substitute teachers is
that no social welfare is given to substitute teachers such as medical care, pension
and housing subsidy. Although the two types of teachers are doing the same job,
substitute teachers cannot enjoy the same reward, benefit and welfare as official
teachers. In addition, substitute teachers get limited professional support. For exam-
ple, administratively Aboluo village primary school in Zhaojue is under the Liuqie
central primary school, but the three substitute teachers cannot take part in any
teaching and research group activities organized in Liuqie central primary school.
Current state policy is that no substitute teachers should be employed.
However, it remains very difficult for some remote rural areas to get qualified
teachers as noted above. Some substitute teachers have worked for a long time,
obtained qualification through in service training, and are experienced and effec-
tive. Some have become official teachers but many have not and the process
appears arbitrary. Some illustrative cases make the point.
Mrs. Zhang is a substitute teacher in Yangjiagou primary school of Yanhewan
township, Ansai. She has worked for 20 years as substitute teachers in this school
and has acquired a 3 year higher education diploma and teaching certificate.
However, she cannot become an official teacher because of the current policy.
Mrs. Zhang’s salary is only 700 yuan/month without any welfare or any opportu-
nity for in-service training. Because of her outstanding capability, Mrs. Zhang has
been enrolled in the teacher talent pool in Ansai and is a devoted teacher. Working
in a one teacher village school Mrs. Zhang has to teach all the subjects for a pre-
school class and a Grade 1 class including Chinese, Math and Morality. Using a
multi-grade teaching model, she teaches 30 periods of lessons per week. Her
workload is much more than that for official teachers.
Mrs. Zhang writes in her teaching plan, “I have chosen this job, so I should
shoulder responsibility for it. Never give up! Even grass can ornament spring,
children need me, I should consider the children. No matter how strenuous it is,
I should continue on and work conscientiously and happily”. Even though her
income is low, she works hard. But she has no chance of getting official status.
She explains her exclusion as being because she has no special connections with
the leaders and feels she cannot compete for jobs with new graduates despite
being in the talent pool. During the interview, she wept as she felt wronged. In
Chengmao primary school in Huaziping township there are two substitute teachers
who have acquired higher education diplomas and have lengthy teaching expertise
dating from 1988 and from 1998. However they cannot become official teachers.
In contrast the third teacher who only has a secondary professional school edu-
cation, is an official teacher despite being appointed in 2008. We identified 10