Chinese give teachers most respect: survey

Chinese respect teachers the most, while Singapore gives them the best salary, according to a latest survey.

The Global Teacher Status Index, compiled by Varkey Gems Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dubai-headquartered GEMS Education, is based on a comparative study which examines teacher status and people's perception of the profession. It covered 1,000 respondents in each of the 21 countries surveyed.

The factors deciding the scores of the countries include how teachers are respected in relation to other professions, the social standing of teachers, whether parents would encourage their children to be teachers, whether children have respect for their teachers and how much people think teachers ought to be paid.

China tops the ranking with a score of 100, followed by Greece and Turkey at 73.7 and 68, respectively. South Korea and New Zealand came in 4th and 5th with scores of 62 and 54, respectively.

China is the only country where the majority rank teachers as holding the same social status as doctors. Over 70 percent of Chinese respondents believe students respect their teachers.

Despite high teacher respect and status, public opinion on the country's educational system is not as high, with China mid-rank on how successful the public defines its educational system.

About 50 percent of the respondents in China said they would encourage their child to become a teacher.

The United States was ranked the 9th with an index of 38.4, and Britain was the 10th at 36.7. Israel was at the bottom of the list with an index score of 2.

Singapore came in 7th with an index ranking of 46.3. However, teachers in Singapore get the best salaries of 45,755 U.S. dollars, followed by 44,917 U.S. dollars for teachers in the United States.

In terms of perception of how much teachers should be remunerated, respondents in Singapore believed the fair wage for a teacher should be 14 percent lower than their current wage.