In 1951, the Chinese government worked out a "trial plan for training teachers of ethnic origins". The plan requested that nationality normal schools of different levels be opened according to the need of educational development in ethnic regions. In the regions where the conditions for running schools were not met, teaching classes for ethnic trainees should be added in general normal schools or general high schools. Since then, in Inner-Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Tibet, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai provinces or autonomous regions, the country has set up more than 100 nationality normal universities, normal cooleges, two-years universities for teacher professional training, or normal secondary schools, and more than 100 colleges of education and schools for teachers' training. At the same time, the country also set up departments for ethnic teachers' training in some nationality colleges and comprehensive universities. Besides, in order to train echnic teachers in Northwest and Southwest regions in China respectively, Northwest ethnic teachers' training center and Southwest training center for ethnic teachers of English have been specially established. Upon the needs of the regional educational development, these centers have offered training for senior teachers of ethnic origins on rotational basis. In Northeast Normal University, Southwest Normal University, Central China Normal University, Shanxi Normal University, East China Normal University and Beijing Normal University and other key normal universities, ethnic classes have been run, which are open to the ethnic regions and enrolling teaching personnel of ethnic origins. After 50 years' commitment, there are about 888400 teachers of ethnic origins in the entire country, the number of which is about 35 times of that in the beginning of liberation. |
