Chen Liqun and his students from the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/cyol.net]

The Hangzhou education bureau announced on Oct 22 that 455 schools in the eastern Chinese city have teamed up with 688 counterparts in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

The schools, which are located in 16 counties and county-level cities in Qiandongnan, cover both K-12 education and vocational education.

Inviting principals and experienced teachers from Hangzhou to work in these rural schools was an effective method to strengthen local education. A workshop was also established to cultivate local principals in a more professional manner. The workshop was named after Chen Liqun, a former principal of the Xuejun Middle School in Hangzhou who, after his retirement in 2017, declined a lucrative job in private schools but to focus on helping develop education in Congjiang county, one of the poorest areas in Qiandongnan.

The bureau said it has reached an agreement with the Qiandongnan education bureau to nurture more rural teachers. The agreement includes selecting 100 principals and teachers, as well as at least five retired principals and senior managers from Hangzhou to work in the remote prefecture. The city will also help 48 rural primary and middle schools in Qiandongnan set up intelligent facilities that would provide access to network resources and distance learning.