To enhance the competence of officials in rural communities, an educational programme has been initiated in Qinghai province. Through Qinghai Radio and TV University (RTVU) and its prefecture- and county-level learning centres, specialised courses are offered based on innovative teaching methods, and with the aim of providing officials better approaches to both planning and execution, and leading to enhanced rural governance.

There are two university students in Lei Yongjun’s family: his son, who passed the college-entrance examination after finishing high school last year, and Lei Yongjun himself, who is in his forties. He is secretary of the Xiaoqiao Village Party Branch in the Chengbei District of Xining City, Qinghai Province.

Is this because the elder Mr. Lei craves knowledge? No.“It has been nearly thirty years since I put away books after graduating from high school.”

He has been a shop owner, engaged in transportation and contracting, leads the village in terms of hard work, and has been named a “bellwether” by the villagers. However, when it comes to leadership and governance, Lei Jun often faces difficult practical problems, and regrets “how little I have learned.”

Luckily, a recent turn of events has worked in his favor. This year, the CPC Organisation Department of Qinghai Province officially initiated a project for enhancing the capabilities of village (community) officials. Through Qinghai RTVU and its prefecture- and county-level learning centres, three years have been set aside to help qualified officials in 4,146 administrative villages and 474 communities in Qinghai upgrade their education to the junior-college level, and enhance their abilities.

In early May, Lei Yongjun, one of 739 students, started classes. What have they learned since then, and what should their roles be?

Helping grassroots officials meet the requirements of their positions

The internet has closed distances on the plateau. In Dayuwugu Village, Qinghaihu Township, Haiyan County of the Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Party-branch secretary Caitaijia is “feeling his way” on a keyboard while watching the screen. He is using Excel to create order and delivery forms for e-commerce animal products. “My junior-college computer course is now coming in handy.”

In the past, this was the job of Duojie, a township official. “All village officials on the Party-branch and villager committees were herders, and none could use a computer”, said Duojie with a forced smile. “I became the village ‘typist’, and all the materials were on my shoulders.” In fact, it was not the village officials who wanted to unburden themselves. Caitaijia could only type with his index fingers, making it hard for him to produce even one page in a day, let alone anything more demanding.

Over the years, Dayuwugu Village has been expanding away from animal husbandry into multiple types of business, including e-commerce and ecological tourism. “My lack of education has been holding me back”, said Caiduojia. When he heard of the junior-college programme being offered in Qinghai, he applied at once. “These days, grassroots officials need to gain greater competence. The Jinyintan Grasslands are a great resource, we can’t justify ourselves if we can’t make use of it.”

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Qinghai has continued to focus on the grassroots in order to strengthen its foundations, and has enhanced the structure and abilities of its teams and officials in rural communities. However, factors such as the relative backwardness of the area, economically and socially, mean that much remains to be done. According to statistics from the Organisational Department of the CPC Qinghai Provincial Committee, 80.12% of the 32,048 officials in the Party-branch and villager committees of the 4,146 administrative villages had education at or below junior middle school, making it common for officials to be lacking in terms of planning and execution.

Because of this, the Organisation Department of the CPC Qinghai Provincial Committee proposed to give top-level officials 50 and younger, and lower-level officials 45 and younger, in all the Party-branch and villager committees, as well as communities in all the administrative villages and communities throughout the province, systematic training that would enable them to meet the requirements of their positions.

Teaching students in accordance with their abilities, with an emphasis on practical skills and high standards

Before beginning classes, Party-branch secretary Liu Hu from Ershilipu Village in the Chengbei District of Xining City asked himself: “Will these classes be a mere formality, or will they have some practical use?”

In the programme, the actual needs of students are targeted in accordance with their abilities by way of four junior-college majors: Administrative Management (oriented toward village and township management), Agriculture Management, Business Administration (oriented toward township-enterprise management), and Agricultural Equipment and Facilities. Each major offers a choice of 20 hands-on courses.

Liu Hu majors in Administrative Management (rural-management orientation), and is studying uses of information technology, rural policies and regulations, leadership arts for village officials, and other subjects. A practicum and graduation dissertation are required. “The courses, strongly practical in nature, carry 78 credits, and completion of every credit is required for graduation.” Ms. Song Ruiping, a Qinghai RTVU teacher, told the reporter, “Entrance is easy, but not graduation. It takes effort to pass!”

To accommodate the classes to the work reality of the officials, they integrate two weeks of in-person tutoring with autonomous online study. “This keeps officials working as herdsmen on the plateau from having to keep going back and forth,” said Caitaijia. He was very satisfied with the course arrangement, and said that it “allowed us to work and study at the same time.”

Finally, to encourage officials to take the classes, and in accordance with Qinghai regulations, 80% of the tuition is covered by the prefectures and counties, with students paying only 20% themselves. The top students are also eligible for scholarships. Since his work demands are numerous, Liu Hu has to cut into his rest time to complete the online courses. He said, “I can’t waste such a good chance, and will persist despite the effort it takes. I will be like a new man if I complete this programme successfully.”

Practical learning through on-site observation, mutual instruction, and interactive exchanges among students

In recent years, Xiaoqiao Village, a suburb, has experienced rapid urbanization. The villagers have gradually prospered, but some have remained behind in terms of lifestyle and ideology. In this situation, Lei Yongjun’s role is changing. Although a property-management office has been set up in the village, “The transition remains incomplete, and the future unclear.”

“It’s up to professionals to do professional things, and therefore it is necessary to establish a property-management company,” explained Ms. Li Qiumei, a teacher at Qinghai RTVU, taking the perspective of business management. “When you are available, please come to our community to have a look around. The villagers have become townspeople. We have had to change our work methods accordingly,” said our monitor, Song Jiangyong, secretary of the CPC Yicaidong Community Committee of Chengxi District, Xining City, in his enthusiastic invitation. All the teachers and students are active in sharing their opinions, and it is just like a meeting in a physical office.

Teaching methodology has been altered to achieve practical results, with new approaches that include small class sizes, one-on-one tutorials, on-site inspections, and peer learning via interactive exchanges among students, aiming to build prosperity and implement rural revitalisation. The fundamental goal of the project is help officials make practical advances in skills and understanding.

Recently, Song Jiangyong, the class monitor, has been busy bringing students together to communicate about their experiences. He said, “Here we are able to step out of our narrow work lives, and through exchanges with others open our horizons!”

As these officials gain education, Qinghai will enhance its process of choosing civil servants for townships and neighbourhoods, as well as staff for township and neighbourhood government institutions, from among the secretaries of village (community) Party organizations, by way of examinations and promotion. This shows that being a village (community) official is a dignified, promising and competent profession, and will help build stable, competent and well-educated government teams.

By OUC News Network
Reprinted from People’s Daily