Teachers from Hai’an County, east China’s Jiangsu province, have been sent to Ninglang Yi Autonomous County of Yunnan province to help with the school education over the past 32 years. They were honored role models of the times on September 7th by the publicity department of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee.
As soon as school started, Lu Lei, a Yi ethnic boy, couldn't wait to send a video to the teachers. He was admitted to Tsinghua University with a score of 709 in the college entrance examination this year. He said that he is most grateful to the support teachers from Haian, Jiangsu.
Ninglang, an underdeveloped county listed by the central government for all-round assistance, is inhabited by 12 ethnic groups including Yi, Han, Naxi, Bai and Miao. With 98% of the land located in hilly mountains, the county did not see a high school graduate enrolled by colleges until in 1988.
In order to change the predicament, Asu Daling, then secretary of the Ninglang County Party Committee, came to Haian for an investigation, and a special education cooperation agreement was finally born. Since then, more than 8,000 miles away from the coast of the Yellow Sea, teachers from Hai’an have been devoted to the education cause in the depths of the mountain in Ninglang.
Ninghai Middle School was inaugurated on September 1st 1988. 35 teachers from Hai’an were sent to work in Ninglang in the same year.
Teachers from Hai'an tried their best to stimulate the children's interest in learning.
In one year’s time, the students excelled in the junior high school entrance exam with 88 students ranking first in Ninglang on average scores.
Uncle from Hai’an has been a nickname for the teachers from Hai’an over the past three decades.
Over the past 32 years, Hai’an and Ninglang have forged partnership in pairing-up educational support with 281 teachers sent by Hai’an have been working in Ninglang. Altogether, the Hai’an uncles have trained more than 20000 high school graduates and more than 10000 technical school and college graduates. Their dedication and devotion have inspired the local ethnic minorities, promoted the local economic and social development and strengthened the unity, progress and overall revitalization of all the ethnic groups in Ninglang.
(Source: ourjiangsu.com)
