Ordos schools offering big bucks to top grads

A high school in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said its affiliates are offering annual salaries of up to 600,000 yuan ($93,700) to attract graduates from well-known universities.

According to notices issued by the Ordos No 1 High School, its affiliated high school in Ejin Horoo Banner plans to hire 24 teachers, and its affiliated primary school aims to hire 20.

For graduates from Tsinghua University and Peking University, both schools will offer candidates who sign three-year contracts 500,000 yuan annually, and 600,000 yuan per year if they sign six-year contracts.

For other "exceptional candidates", the schools offer free housing in an 80-square-meter apartment, or 250,000 yuan of housing subsidies for bachelor's degree holders; free housing in a 100-square-meter apartment, or 300,000 yuan of housing subsidies for graduates with master's degrees or higher; and free housing in a 120-square-meter apartment, or 350,000 yuan of housing subsidies for graduates from famous universities.

All the posts can be permanent if the teachers choose to stay on after their initial contracts.

The news quickly became a trending topic on social media platforms, with the hashtag "Ordos hiring primary and secondary school teachers with 600,000 yuan of annual salary" being viewed more than 130 million times on Sina Weibo as of Monday afternoon.

Ordos joins first-tier cities that have tried to lure graduates from famous universities with high salaries to teach at local primary and middle schools.

According to 21st Century Business Herald, all 66 new teachers hired by Shenzhen Middle School last year have master's degrees or higher. About half the teachers are graduates from PKU and Tsinghua, while others are from world famous universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher with the National Institute of Education Sciences, said it is good for regions with financial means to raise the salaries of primary and secondary school teachers, as teaching is still not a high-paying profession despite continuous investment from the central and local governments.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the per capita GDP of coal-rich Ordos ranked second among all Chinese cities in the first half of this year, reaching 94,700 yuan.

However, only giving high salaries to graduates from certain universities is questionable, as having a good educational background does not necessarily equate to having great teaching ability, he said.

While the schools are offering high salaries to new teachers from prestigious universities, they should also consider giving veteran teachers a raise. Otherwise, the new job offerings may seem to be nothing more than a publicity stunt, he added.

Chen Zhiwen, editor-in-chief of online education portal EOL, said with job stability, winter and summer vacations and access to good public schools for their children, teaching has become a more favored profession for college graduates in recent years.

As Chinese universities have significantly increased student enrollment, the number of college graduates has also increased dramatically compared with 20 years ago, so it is not feasible for all graduates from famous universities to find elite jobs, he said.

And it is not a waste of talent for them to teach at primary and middle schools, because the key to improving the quality of education lies in hiring good teachers, he added.