SDG Advocate Jack Ma says quality rural education key to China’s poverty reduction campaign
At the opening ceremony of a recent training session for rural teachers in China’s Guizhou province, SDG Advocate and Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma said improving education in rural areas is crucial to alleviate poverty in his country.
“Insufficient education and health care are two major obstacles to cause poverty in China, so every one of you (who teaches in rural area) today, are doing the greatest philanthropy in our country,” Mr. Ma told the crowd at the event, urging individuals, governments and organizations to act collectively to improve those teachers’ living standards and working levels.
Mr. Ma made the remark on Aug. 3 at a training session for rural teachers who won last year’s “Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative,” saying China has already made enormous progress in anti-poverty campaign during past decades.
According to Mr. Ma, a country’s future is largely determined by the quality of its population, millions of students in rural areas are a great treasure for China, but sufficient and balanced education is a bit far away from them in reality.
“Students in big cities enjoy enormous resources but it’s not the case for those in rural areas, the opportunity to receive proper education is their (rural students) best chance to catch up with children in cities during China’s modernization,” said Mr. Ma, stressing “that’s why those rural teachers are so important”.
As an SDG Advocate and a former teacher for seven years before the establishment of Alibaba Group, Mr. Ma has long devoted himself to philanthropy sector, especially on promoting rural education in China.
Since the establishment of Jack Ma Foundation in late 2014, he has declared three core-programs to support this mission.
The “Jack Ma Rural Teacher Initiative” is the first core program of the Jack Ma Foundation, and attempts to find outstanding rural teachers. 100 top teachers selected annually by the foundation are granted 100,000 yuan each (15,000 USD) to help them stay and work in the rural areas. Meanwhile, a three-year professional development plan is also provided to enhance their teaching skills.
In addition to this initiative, Mr. Ma also launched the “Jack Ma Rural Headmaster Initiative” in July of this year with the aims to promote leadership and management skills of headmasters in China’s rural areas. The selected headmasters will be provided 500,000 yuan each (75,000 USD) to help develop specific educational plans.
Mr. Ma also released an online education platform, which he described as a “paradise” for all Chinese educators, students, and parents. The platform includes an online community and encourages members to share valuable information.