Chongqing teachers offer help in school hallways

A group of senior high school teachers in Southwest China's Chongqing are volunteering their time behind desks in school hallways, where they tutor students ahead of next month's National College Entrance Examination.

"I feel more and more confident that my college dream is about to come true," said Luo Junhao, an 18-year-old student at Chongqing Fengdu Tongwen School in Chongqing's Fengdu county.

A talented athlete, Luo recently finished the final physical examination and is now focusing on literacy, which he is not very good at.

He said he doesn't feel embarrassed asking the teachers questions because the teachers' desks, neatly arranged along the hallway, are always lined with curious schoolmates who can interact with the teachers about any subject every day.

Luo said thanks to this face-to-face tutoring, his grades are gradually improving.

"The 'corridor tutoring' has been going on for three years," said the school's principal, Yuan Tianyong, who added that it was a spontaneous initiative organized by the teachers. "Their goal is to ensure that the students can digest knowledge points effectively and not leave questions unanswered overnight."

He said that whenever the teachers are free, or when they grade assignments or prepare lessons, they prefer to move their desks from their offices to the corridor to make themselves available to answer students' questions and provide guidance.

Fifty-seven teachers from the school's senior grade are assisting about 900 senior students who are set to take this year's National College Entrance Examination.

Last year's National College Entrance Examination, known as the gaokao, recorded a record high of 12.91 million students nationwide.

Yuan said the privately-operated school has a large number of students like Luo, whose junior high school entrance examination scores were below average. But through the efforts of the students and teachers, the number of students achieving the minimum required scores for the college entrance exam has been steadily increasing.

"The teachers' companionship helps the students relax as the big exam approaches," Yuan said.

To help the test-takers in the fierce exam, the school also provides free nutritious evening meals and fruit.