Zhongshan will become the first city in Guangdong Province to introduce an academic ranking system for headmasters in primary and middle schools.

City government officials have decided to scrap executive titles and administrative ranks for headmasters in the city¡¯s primary and middle schools this year.

Instead, a new academic ranking system will be introduced in the autumn school term to help assess and grade headmasters, an official from the Zhongshan Municipal Education Bureau said.

The new system will separate headmasters into five academic ranks based on their academic qualifications and performance, a China Daily report quoted the official as saying Monday.

The monthly salary gap between different academic ranks will be 1,500 yuan (US$180). Headmasters will also be paid special bonuses if they perform well.

¡°The move aims to encourage the city¡¯s headmasters to become professional personnel, scholars and experts, like their counterparts overseas,¡± the official was quoted as saying.

The education bureau has established a special task force to take responsibility for assessing and grading the headmasters. The group includes government officials, senior professors and teachers and other professionals.

The headmasters will be promoted every three years if they qualify.

Those who do not qualify will be demoted, or even dismissed.

Zhongshan now has more than 300 primary and middle school headmasters.

An official from Guangdong Provincial Education Department said the new academic ranking system would not yet be extended to cover the whole province because conditions were not ripe.

But in a long-term development plan, the new system will eventually be introduced throughout the province to keep pace with international practice.

Editor: Donald