First graders in a experimental primary school in Ganyu county, East China's Jiangsu province, in class on Feb 17.

 

The system overseas

Gao also foresaw difficulties and proposed that the education authorities should learn from other countries. "In Japan, public schools are the responsibility of local governments, meaning there is no difference in quality between urban and rural schools," she said.

The regulations governing schools in Japan provide strict standards for the use of facilities, "which leaves no gaps among schools", she said.

To reinforce the system, Japan's Education Civil Servant Law states that teachers in public schools are regional civil servants and details the rotation mechanism.

In Japan, teachers care more about their careers instead of worrying about which school they serve, and they are fully conversant with the country's rotation mechanism, according to Gao.

The local government pays teachers according to their experience and is responsible for their assignment to different schools. The system relieves teachers' natural concerns about income differentials, she added.

In Gao's view, the provision of legal support and well-prepared facilities are of paramount importance and must be ensured before any rotation mechanism is implemented.

In terms of basic education, the government should treat all schools as equals. However, over the years the education authorities have injected a greater amount of funding into key schools, thus jeopardizing the chances of equal development and possibly even leading to discrimination in favor of more-prestigious establishments.

Gao said it would be difficult to implement the rotation system if the majority of teachers refuse to take part, but stressed that they should not be blamed or accused of being selfish, "because society has not provided the soil for them to think in that way for long time".

Tan praised the rotation method used in Japan and suggested that local governments should play an important role in narrowing the divides between schools in China.

They can provide financial support to balance facilities in every school, and provide a transport subsidy for rotated teachers, many of whom will have to travel long distances to work, he said.

"In every change or improvement, some people will end up paying a price," he said. "If our educational staff object and don't want to give up their own interests, it will be difficult to make the dream of balanced education and equitable resource allocation become a reality."

Gao was still cautious, though. "To avoid the risk of the rotation mechanism devolving into empty talk or simply failing midway, we'd better think twice and take things slowly to ensure we get it right," she said.

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Ji Jin contributed to this story.