137provincial and county level institutions. Both internal and external monitoring and
evaluation are therefore critical (Wu and Yang 2010 ).
A key component of accountability will be to improve the audit system and
track all expenditure on rural compulsory education from its source to the end
user. This can use data from internal audit and external audit systems and should
also include social audits. Alongside this attention is needed to the mechanisms
of reward and sanctions to promote accountability. Legal parameters for fund use
need clear definition through an “educational investment law” to make sure there
is a legal framework to abide by in the course of supervision and accountability.
6.5.4 Improve Teachers’ Salary and Welfare and Regularize
Substitute Teachers
The outstanding issues with teachers’ salaries have been discussed in previous sec-
tions. The first issue is that though rural teachers’ salaries are guaranteed by the
“New Mechanism” it remains the case that they may be delayed or under paid.
This situation should end and the salaries be guaranteed like other state employees
so that payment cannot be affected by whether fees are charged or by the tem-
porary economic situation of the county (Zhang 2008 ). Although the salaries and
welfare treatment of rural teachers have improved greatly, housing allowances are
not systematically available and a serious issue in rural areas. Medical insurance
also varies and needs to be regularized. Some rural substitute teachers remain and
their conditions of service are very inferior and need resolving. The gaps between
eastern, western and the central areas have yet to be reduced and standards of liv-
ing of teachers in different locations are very different. This is a disincentive in
attracting excellent teachers to work in rural areas and a more effective scheme is
needed to reduce the differences between rural and urban teachers.
6.5.5 Regional Disparities and Strategic Planning
Educational inequalities reflect and reinforce economic and social inequality.
Rapid growth is often inequitable but may become unstable of differences between
groups become too large. Proactive measures are needed to manage more equita-
ble growth in the future. These need to be contextually located but within an over-
all strategic framework. The are opportunities to set subsidy levels in relation to
local economic realities; allocate per student funds in ways the recognize the addi-
tional demands created by planned growth; make more use of social capital and
encourage community contributions to construction and school activities; and use
educational assets including buildings, land and equipment more efficiently.