\tChina is to install independent inspectors in all its 300,000 primary and middle schools by the end of this year to improve educational quality and fairness.<\/p>\n
\tThe inspectors will be directly managed by education supervision departments under local governments and are independent from local educational authorities, according to a circular issued by the State Council, or China's cabinet, to announce the decision.<\/p>\n
\tThe move is designed to establish a long-term supervision mechanism based on the current reality of an "unhealthy" Chinese basic education, He said.<\/p>\n
\tA remarkable imbalance of education has come to exist among schools and between urban and rural areas, he said. Many schools have paid attention only to pupils' test marks, assigning too much homework for them but ignoring their physical and mental health.<\/p>\n
\tSome schools have illegally charged extra tuition fees, and even reportedly manipulated the enrollment process for benefits.<\/p>\n
\tInspectors will deal with complaints from parents and students in addition to supervising schools' enrollment, management, educational methods, curriculum, and food safety and sanitation, He told reporters.<\/p>\n
\tThey are required to submit monthly reports to local governments and put forward their suggestions regarding schools' overall operation, according to the official.<\/p>\n
\tInspectors' reports and suggestions will be regarded an important criterion for assessing the performance of a school and its heads.<\/p>\n
\tChina has about 50,000 full-time or part-time education inspectors across the country, but most of them work for internal agencies of local educational bureaus.<\/p>\n
\tThe independent inspectors mechanism was introduced in August, 2012 by the State Council.<\/p>\n
\tUnder the Regulation on Educational Inspections, inspectors are authorized to review and copy the financial records of schools within their jurisdiction, as well as call for additional access to other related documents.<\/p>\n
\tAny failure to assist inspectors may result in disciplinary punishment for heads of schools, says the regulation, adding that inspection reports should be made public.<\/p>\n
\tPilots of the mechanism were conducted even earlier in Chongqing, Hunan and Shandong, and they have proven to be effective, according to He.<\/p>\n
\tThe building of the inspection mechanism has led to a sharp decrease in the number of complaints, said Zhang Guohua, director of the educational bureau of Weifang City in east China's Shandong Province.<\/p>\n
\tInspectors in schools in Weifang have the right to veto school decisions, according to Zhang. They have helped report 2,200 cases of school safety hazards since 2009 and promoted smoother, faster implementation of educational policies from central government.<\/p>\n