Xi hails nation's teachers on their day

President has paid great attention to educators' role in shaping youth, reducing poverty and narrowing rural-urban gaps

President Xi Jinping extended his best wishes to teachers and education workers nationwide on Tuesday, the nation's 35th Teachers' Day.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, expressed his greetings while meeting with representatives of education workers and groups given awards by the government at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi shook hands with the representatives, talked with them and took a photo with them. He congratulated them on their award.

In January 1985, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the top legislature, adopted a bill to designate Sept 10 as Teachers' Day to honor education workers for their contributions to the country's development.

Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Huning, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting. Both are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan said at the meeting that teachers nationwide have made great contributions to the country's progress and development in the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Teachers should remember Xi's instructions and nurture a new generation of capable young people who have good, all-around moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetical grounding and are well prepared to join the socialist cause, Sun said.

She told the teachers to cultivate talent for the Party and the country, foster virtue through education and work hard to meet the needs of the Party and the people.

Related departments should further improve treatment of teachers, make teaching a more attractive career and build a good atmosphere of respecting teachers and education workers, she said.

The president has paid great attention to education work and expressed respect for the country's teachers many times through different channels including meetings, inspection tours and letters.

In a speech delivered on Sept 10 last year, Xi reaffirmed the great importance of education and called for more respect for teachers and stronger efforts to enhance education.

In September 2016, Xi visited Beijing Bayi School, his alma mater, where he talked with the teachers and expressed his appreciation to the country's educators for their hard work. He urged more measures to narrow the gap in educational resources and quality between rural and urban areas.

While inspecting the University of Science and Technology of China,- -in Hefei, Anhui province, in April 2016, Xi encouraged teachers to cultivate a greater sense of mission and aim for more achievements in science and technological research.

In a letter of reply to teachers from Guizhou province in September 2015, Xi encouraged the country's teachers to contribute more to education in poor areas. Providing rural children with a good education is an important task in poverty relief, he said.

While inspecting Beijing Normal University in September 2014, Xi said teachers are dream builders. To become a good teacher, one must have lofty ideals, solid knowledge and a kind heart, he said.