A DEPUTY from Shenzhen to the National People’s Congress, Chen Hongtian, who is president of Cheung Kei Group, proposed at the annual meeting of the national legislature that teachers should not pass the buck and ask parents to check homework, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported Thursday.
Chen said that teachers are major players in children’s education, while parents only provide financial support and necessary tutoring at home.
National laws also specify that one of a teacher’s responsibilities is to check homework. However, in reality it is parents who check homework, according to Chen.
“Although some provinces, such as Shandong and Zhejiang, have already issued policies stipulating that teachers are not allowed to ask parents to check homework, this situation is widespread,” said Chen, adding that some teachers even use their spare time to engage in after-school training to make more money.
One of the consequences of this is that teachers transfer their attention away from their classes, which might cause tension between parents and schools, and will ultimately affect the children’s performance, according to Chen.
Chen urged education departments to issue relevant policies to regulate teachers to make them focus on teaching. Additionally, Chen said that authorities should require that teachers check homework and conduct regular reviews of teachers’ behavior.
School budgets should also be raised to address the lack of education resources in certain areas and to increase teacher salaries, according to Chen.
(Wang Jingli) |