Battered by Closures, Rural Schools Await New Guidelines

Wu Guoxian (right) and some of his students attend a flag-raising ceremony in Gugang Primary School in Qiannan prefecture, Guizhou province, on May 31. The rural school has only 11 students, and Wu, 50, is its only teacher. He also fills other roles at the school, including cook and cleaner. Photo: Visual China

(Chongxin, Gansu province) — In a rural corner of northwest China's Gansu province, a primary school principal on the verge of retirement said he has been trying for years to recruit new teachers without any luck.

Daxing Primary School in Chongxin County has five male teachers — all in their 50s — teaching a total of about 40 students in grades one through six. Because there are only a handful of students in each grade, children of different ages are lumped together. None of the teachers at Daxing has a college degree, and they say they are unable to teach subjects such as music and art, which are part of the curriculum.