A rural teacher said he was motivated to stay determined to his dedication to a career of education by a reply letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping who extended greetings to teachers and educators across the country ahead of Teachers' Day, which falls on Wednesday.
To commemorate the 41st Teachers' Day, President Xi wrote back to eight rural teachers who joined China's national special-post teachers recruitment program, a central government-funded initiative that has sent about 1.18 million college graduates to teach in rural areas of central and western China since 2006.
In his letter, President Xi expressed sincere hopes, and offered warm congratulations and greetings to all teachers and educational workers across China.
Xi urged them to enhance their teaching skills and nurture more capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility, and work skills needed to join and carry on the socialist cause.
Over the nearly past two decades since its implementation, teachers in the program have demonstrated the dedication and sense of responsibility emblematic of people's teachers, Xi noted in the letter.
He called on them to continue upholding their original aspiration in education and guide children toward healthy growth.
Ren Mingjie, a teacher at the Daxinzhuang Primary School based in central Henan's Xinxiang City, is a representative of China's national special-post teachers recruitment program and one of the recipients.
"When I saw President Xi's reply, I was overwhelmed with emotion. This letter is not only an affirmation of us as special post teachers, but an encouragement to the entire teaching profession. I know that this letter carries great responsibility, and it motivates me to stay determined on the path of education, contributing my part to the development of more outstanding talents. On this Teachers' Day, I hope that all teachers will remember President Xi's instructions, uphold the original intention of education, and continually improve our teaching abilities in the classroom," said Ren.
The special-post teachers recruitment program has covered over 30,000 schools, spanning more than 1,000 counties in 22 provincial-level regions.
Xi's reply letter motivates rural teachers to contribute to education
