Many parents sacrifice a great deal to send their child to school and the child s performance is expected to be worthy of that sacrifice. Most students who aim for a place in the middle class take extra courses on Saturday and are tutored by teachers in the evening. As one student put it, We need to do well enough in primary school to get into a good middle school and high school. Our ultimate goal is to get a high score on the national exam and to be accepted into one of the best universities. We don t want to waste our time with art or music or any subject that isn t on the national exam.
Many teachers receive merit pay based on the numbers of students who get into the top schools.
Interestingly, primary school teachers, who teach students all day, are paid more than middle and high school teachers, who teach a few classes each day and are free to leave when they aren t teaching. University professors are paid least of all although many supplement their salaries with other work. Many teachers are also tutors in their off hours. Middle school and high school students have very long days. The notion of a teacher as an all-knowing dispensor of information may account for the high regard in which teachers are held in China.