Teachers are the "gardeners" who take on the responsibility of cultivating students, and enjoy a high status in society. Teachers are also seen as an important educational resource. The strength of the school's teachers directly affects the richness of educational resources, and then affects the willingness of parents to choose a school. Despite our efforts to narrow the gap in educational resources between urban and rural areas and between regions, there are still imbalances. In particular, it is difficult for rural schools to retain excellent teachers, and the gap between urban and rural education is gradually widening. This issue needs to be addressed urgently to achieve equity in education.
The loss of rural teachers affects the balanced distribution of educational resources. Due to the relative lack of facilities and educational resources in rural areas, the level of teachers is difficult to compare with that in cities. Many rural teachers want to work in urban schools, but this has led to an outflow of rural education resources and weakened the development of rural education. Policies have been introduced to restrict the "irregular mobility" of teachers. For example, Hangzhou City has proposed policy restrictions on teachers in the western mountainous areas, Jiangmen Taishan City has demanded that the procedures for teacher transfer be controlled, and Jiangxi Province has strictly prohibited cross-city selection and recruitment of talents with high salaries. These policies are aimed at retaining teachers and promoting rural education.
(1) The implementation of the policy of restricting the movement of teachers
By the end of 2024, the Hangzhou Municipal Education Bureau will implement a policy to restrict the abnormal movement of teachers in the western mountainous areas, requiring a certificate of consent to apply for the examination. The Education Bureau of Taishan City, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, has strengthened the review of procedures such as teacher transfer and resignation to curb the disorderly flow of teachers. The Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education clearly restricts the cross-city selection and transfer of primary and secondary school teachers, and prohibits high-paid talent poaching. The educational institution of Yilong County, Nanchong, Sichuan Province said that it would implement policies to retain people and solve the problem of the loss of excellent teachers.
(2) Netizens' reactions to the policy of restricting the movement of teachers
Some netizens were uneasy about the policy of restricting the movement of teachers. What do they think is the meaning of "abnormal flows"?Is it only because of the background that it counts as "normal flow"?This concept is difficult to define exactly. Rural schools are already under-resourced, teachers are inconvenient to live in rural areas, and there are families whose children need better education, so they are reluctant to stay in rural areas for a long time. Restricting "irregular mobility" seems to be forcing rural teachers to stay in the countryside forever, and it is worth pondering whether it is fair to teachers. Everyone has the right to upward development, and restricting mobility seems to dissolve the choice of teachers. It is difficult to retain teachers' inner sense of identity when retaining people. In order to promote the development of rural education, the education department should make every effort to increase the remuneration of rural teachers and attract teachers to go there voluntarily.
(3) Suggestions for solving the problem of teacher mobility
Rural teachers should be retained by improving their salaries, assessment mechanisms and promoting professional titles. Raise salaries so that rural teachers earn one level higher than urban teachers, and attract more teachers to voluntarily choose to teach in rural schools. Rather than simply restricting the mobility of teachers, the education sector should make rural schools a willing choice for teachers by improving their salaries. The development of education requires the joint efforts of the whole society in order to achieve the equitable distribution of educational resources and promote the progress of education for all.
In the face of the problem of teacher mobility, we should pay more attention to the needs and choices of teachers, and make excellent teachers willing to stay in rural schools and contribute to the cause of education by improving the remuneration and working environment. At the same time, it is also necessary to rely on the strength of the whole society to jointly promote educational equity and promote the all-round development of education.