He Liu, the teacher, said his experience in Dazhai helped to formulate a pattern of thinking which he has retained: "The teaching process is objective-oriented and requires a clear plan. It molded my thought pattern, which I apply to my everyday tasks."

 

 

Statistics supplied by Teach for China show that the graduates become more willing to stay in the education sector as they progress through the two-year program. "Initially, only about 6 or 7 percent say they will stay in education after their placement, but the number rises to 70 percent when they finish the program," Liu said.

 

According to the NGO, more than 50 percent of its graduate volunteers either stay in the sector after finishing their teaching stints, or they join nonprofit organizations similar to Teach for China.

 

Now, the Beijing Lead Future Foundation is pushing forward another program called Meili Xiaoxue, or "Beautiful Primary School", to offer opportunities to previous graduate volunteers who want to contribute further.

 

The schools enlisted in the Meili Xiaoxue program remain under the administration of the local education authorities, but they hand over their management to the foundation and teaching duties to Teach for China.

 

"Now we have two such schools in place and they are just like two laboratories. What we want to do is to explore a new approach for rural education, which can be copied in other parts of China," Pasinetti said.