Guangzhou is preparing to reduce the number of schoolteachers and increase teachers' pay.

Lin Shusen, the city's Party secretary, said this would prevent schools from charging excessive fees "from the headstream," the Southern Metropolitan News reported Wednesday.

Those who lose teaching posts will be mainly those unable to teach, those without teaching duties and those nearing retirement.

Chen Maolin, vice director-general of the municipal education bureau, said the size of teaching staffs would be determined according to State regulations.

It has not been decided how many teachers would be retrenched and how much more those staying on would earn. Teachers are expected to do more work after the reform.

A teacher in charge of a class at a provincial-level primary school said teachers should not be given too much work as this would affect teaching quality.

"We are very full now," she said. She said her school often did extra research assigned by superior authorities, received inspections and visits, took part in various activities and tutored students who were not doing well in their studies.

The amount of work could be simply determined by the number of lessons taught, she said.

Education authorities should listen to teachers when drawing up the detailed plan and taking into account differences between schools and subjects, she said.

It was proposed to raise teachers' salaries in March at the annual meeting of the city's committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Some members pointed out that, according to teaching laws and provincial rules, teachers should on average earn no less than public servants.

A primary school teacher with five years teaching experience said she could earn more than 2,800 yuan (US$337) per month.

(Shenzhen Daily September 18, 2003)