Teachers and parents welcome the newly appointed education Minister's determination to reform the compulsory education system. Yuan Guiren says he is going to push for more equal distribution of education resources.

As part of the Minister's vision, Beijing is rotating teachers to close the gap between schools. Fang Zhijian, the former principal of the city's Eleventh Middle School, a key secondary teaching institution, just transferred to Yu-yuan-tan Middle School. He has been principal of the school for 3 months. He is motivated after watching the Minister's interview.

Fang Zhijian, president of Beijing Yuyuantan Middle School, said, "Shortly after being sworn in, the Minister placed the focus of his work on compulsory education. We are elated."

In China, students are allocated to the nearest schools according to where they live. As with most things, some schools have better facilities and teachers. But some parents are willing to spend more to give their children the best education. This has led to the chronic problem of school choice. Thus many parents and children will spend more time and money to be enrolled into a better school.

A parent said, "I think teachers should rotate. They should not cluster in the best schools. Parents are trapped in a paradoxical situation. We don't want to choose schools, but what choice did we have?"

Not everyone is optimistic about the changes. Some parents fear it may take too long for new policies to reach the schools and they may not be as effective as intended.

(CCTV November 18, 2009)