One hundred college teachers from across the country will be awarded in the Great Hall of the People on the National Teachers' Day next Wednesday, sources from the Ministry of Education said yesterday.

Since the country designated September 10 as National Teachers' Day in 1985, it is not unusual for excellent primary and middle school as well as college teachers to be honoured by the central government or regional educational administrations.

But this is the first time that the ministry is honouring 100 outstanding college teachers, who have not just made outstanding contributions to the teaching profession, but also updated the curriculum and other teaching materials, said Tian Yongquan, vice-director of the ministry's Department for Higher Education.

The ministry will award 100 such outstanding college teachers every three years, aiming to encourage universities nationwide to further improve teachers' competence and teaching methods, said Tian.

Lu Gusun, a professor of English at Shanghai's Fudan University won acclaim from the students for his vivid lectures on British and US prose. He took part in the updating of the New English-Chinese Dictionary in 1999.

In another development, the ministry will start a nationwide computer-aided teaching training programme next Monday, to help upgrade professional skills for the country's 10 million primary and middle school teachers, said Guan Peijun, director of the ministry's Department of Teacher Training.

Latest statistics from the ministry indicate that 97 per cent of teachers in primary schools, 90 per cent in junior middle schools and 73 per cent in senior middle schools are qualified to the ministry-set standards. The rest are not qualified due to their relatively poor education background.

In villages and counties, primary school teachers with an education background above high schools only account for 25 and 40 per cent respectively.

Some in remote areas still maintain the educational ideas of the 1970s or 1980s due to their narrow horizons.

"This continuous training programme is expected to greatly raise the competence of teachers, especially those in rural areas," said Guan.

The ministry will set up a special group to supervise the management and operational efficiency of this computer-aided training programme, he added.

(China Daily 09/05/2003 page2)

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