People from different ethnic backgrounds get opportunity to absorb more than language
As a new graduate of Hotan Teachers College in 2016, Liu Pei prowled the annual job fair held at her alma mater in late April, hoping to find opportunities to work in the area where she had studied and lived for three years.
The 21-year-old from Northwest China's Gansu province wanted to become a teacher in Hotan prefecture in the southern part of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
"I have been here for three years and formed an affection for everything here, the environment, the people... I believe there will be great opportunities for my life and career if I stay here," Liu said.
Jurat Dolat, director of the college's department of student affairs, said more than 1,400 students will graduate from the college in 2016, and, judging from previous experience, many will end up landing jobs as bilingual teachers in Xinjiang.
"Last year, the employment rate of our graduates exceeded 88 percent. Among all the colleges in Xinjiang, we had the largest number of students who were employed as teachers last year," he said.
Zhang Wenying, a bilingual teacher at No 1 Middle School in Hotan's Jiya county, was such a person. The 29-year-old, who is of Han ethnicity, moved from Northwest China's Shaanxi province to Hotan in 2007, so he could learn Uygur at the college.
He graduated in 2010, and now speaks fluent Uygur and teaches Mandarin to Uygur students.
Zhang urged the college's graduates this year to add fluency in the Uygur language to their skill sets.
China has 56 ethnic groups. The Han are the majority group, and Mandarin is the official and most widely used language. In Xinjiang, many locals lack even basic Mandarin knowledge. The language barrier not only puts the mat a disadvantage in the job market, but also impedes economic development in the region. The autonomous region encourages ethnic groups to study Mandarin to enhance mutual understanding and open up career opportunities.
Learning the Uygur language is also helpful for Han students who want to work in southern Xinjiang, where bilingual education is in short supply, according to Zhang.
Hotan prefecture is known for its harsh natural conditions and poverty. Hotan Teachers College had trouble enrolling Han students before it started recruiting them directly from other provinces and regions in 2005.
More than a decade later, the population of Han students and teachers at the college has increased from 5.5 percent in 2005 to 25 percent in 2015.
Zhang said his class had 40 students when he was a student there. Twenty-five of his classmates were from outside Xinjiang. After graduation, 35 of his classmates chose to find jobs in Xinjiang.
Since 2010, 526 of the college's 583 graduates recruited from other provinces have chosen to stay in Xinjiang.
Ababekri Ablet, the president of the college, said Han students from inland provinces get to live, learn and communicate with Uygur students and teachers at the college and that sets them up to find work in the region.
"After graduation, they are willing to start their careers here," he said.
To help improve the employment rate, Jurat Dolat, the college's student affairs department head, said the institution will hold a series of lectures and training events this year to boost students' skills, so they can hunt for a wider rage of jobs, in addition to teaching.
