Local loyalty proves key to teacher recruitment

Many of the 2,005 mountain village kindergartens in Tongren city, Guizhou province, are located in remote areas, which means it's difficult to recruit and hold onto qualified teachers for 2,000 yuan ($297) a month. In response, the local government has devised an incentive mechanism to attract talent and ensure quality preschool teaching.

Official kindergartens in towns or townships with jurisdiction over facilities in mountain villages are responsible for offering guidance, so they regularly send teachers to remote areas to offer advice on teaching practice, said Long Lihong, director of the Tongren City Education Commission.

For two and a half years, Su Shulan, a teacher at the Gaolouping Township Kindergarten, has also been acting as the executive director of a kindergarten in Muziping village. She helps the teacher to draft tuition plans and provide themes that are reflected in photos, drawings and other items pinned to the classroom walls.