99which used to be common have largely disappeared. The teaching profession
has become more attractive though it still lags behind many other professions.
Additional benefits including health care, subsidies for children’s education, hous-
ing allowances and transport subsidies have become more common. A thirteenth
month salary is also sometimes paid. Despite this rural teachers’ salaries are
lower than those for urban teachers. This is one of the reasons outstanding teach-
ers transfer to cities or leave the profession. In some village primary school and
incomplete primary school, teachers’ working and living condition remain harsh.
The implementation of performance related pay systems can also lead to inequali-
ties and difficulties.
In Tongzhou 1990, the average salary of formal rural teachers in secondary
school was 200 yuan a month and 180 yuan for primary school teachers. As noted
above it was only 70–80 yuan for minban teachers and it was often delayed or
defaulted. In 2008, the average salary for official primary teachers in Majuqiao
reached 1600 yuan a month and 2680 yuan for junior secondary school teach-
ers. In Xiji township average salaries were higher at 2430 yuan, with a range of
1600 yuan to 3280 yuan. Dudushe teachers were paid slightly more on average at
2680 yuan. During the 2000s the ratio between to lowest and highest paid teachers
increased from about 1.65:1 to 2.1:1.
In Tongzhou, all the teachers are formal teachers who are not only entitled to
secured salaries but also basic welfare benefits such as medical treatment, pen-
sion and housing subsidy. In Xiji and Majuqiao many teachers live in the county
town and the local government now provides a bus service for commuting for free.
There is a teachers’ housing subsidy but this is low so and younger teachers can-
not afford to purchase a house in contrast to several senior teachers who purchased
houses before rapid price inflation occurred.
In Ansai in 1990/91, the average salary for formal teachers was 172 yuan a
month and 79 yuan for minban teachers and the pay was always delayed. In 2009,
in Huaziping and Yanhewan primary school, the salary increased to 1200 to 1300
yuan a month for formal teachers and is between 1200 and 2000 yuan for second-
ary school teachers. The salary level for Ansai is therefore much lower than that
for Tongzhou district in Beijing.
In comparison in Zhaojue in 1990, the average salary for formal primary teach-
ers was 189 yuan and 201 yuan for secondary school teachers. 20 years later, in
Sikai xiang primary school, the teachers’ highest salary was 3200 yuan and the
average salary is 2294 yuan. These high salary levels reflect incentives paid
to attract and retain teacher in the area. Although some problems remain in the
treatment for rural teachers such as housing, and commuting between school
and home, teachers’ salaries have improved significantly. As the government and
parents attach importance to education increasingly, teachers’ social status also
improved so that to be a teacher is more attractive than in the past. This is very
important for the stability of rural teachers.
Comparing vertically, in rural areas of China, teachers’ pay has been improved
over time. However, comparing horizontally, teachers’ pay remains imbalanced
between urban and rural areas and between formal and substitute teachers, and
5.4 Quality of Rural Teachers