190 8 School Mapping and Boarding in the Context ...
building and management of dormitory, dinning and lavatory facilities must be in
accordance with the standards of the state, ensuring the basic food and nutrition,
health and safety of the students, increasing the support for boarding students. For
boarding students’ needs for family caring, it is suggested to have open days for
parents, improving home-school communication, parents accompanying dinning
together, telephone communication. Providing activity facilities and venues to
enrich the extra curriculum activities of boarding students.
Third, some teaching points will need to be maintained, and it is essential to
make active inputs and support such schools and teachers. It may be necessary to
give special treatment for teachers working in hard conditions, giving them oppor-
tunities for training. For schools too small to offer all the subjects, peripatetic
teachers could be deployed working across several schools. Efforts are needed to
attract outstanding teachers to work in difficult schools.
Fourth, it is essential to listen to the local people’s opinions in the process of
making the decisions of closing a school or moving students to another school.
To ensure the substantial participation, the county level government and related
administrative sections should set up hearing and publicize a system to let the
stakeholders (parents and village autonomous organization, township government
etc.) express their own opinions and suggestions. If consensus cannot be reached
among most of the parents, the adjustment should be delayed. Schools cannot be
closed or merged by force. Lessons need to be taken into account at the previous
stage that the decision-making needs to consider the interests of the consumers,
and respect parents and students’ rights and interests, and students’ physical and
psychological health.
Fifth, the school planning is a systematic project should take into consideration
of all the factors comprehensively such as migration, urbanization, house moving
etc. It is not just simply closing and merging schools. It needs various auxiliaries
as a whole package of the reform such as logistic facilities, school transport, and
cost of schooling.
References
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rural school layout: Based on observation of investment and administration system of rural
basic education. Studies of Educational Development, 11 , 46.
Department of Education. (2011). Working on rural school layout adjustment and solving the prob-
lem of long distance [EB/OL]. http://gov.people.com.cn/GB/46737/4465929.html.2011-01-12
Guo, Q. Y. (2008). The situation, reasons and countermeasures of rural school layout adjustment
in China. Journal of Huazhong Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences), 47 (1),
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Lewin, K. M., & Wang Y. J. (1994). Implementing Basic Education in China: Progress and
Prospects in Rich, Poor and National Minority Areas. International Institute for Educational
Planning, UNESCO, Paris, p. 180.
Li, H. G., & Jin, Y. L. (2011). The reason and present state of adjusting planning of primary and
secondary schools in US and the enlightenment. Comparative Education Review., 12 , 6–9.