Central Committee’s Comment on the Southwest Bureau’s Report Concerning the Ideological Reformation of School Teachers (December 24, 1951)

To All Central Bureaus:  The Southwest Bureau’s report [1] is very good. It is hereby transmitted to you for reference and may be published in Party publications.

The Central Committee hopes that the East China, Central-South, and Northwest regions will, at an appropriate time and with proper preparation, convene a large-scale conference on the ideological reformation of school teachers. At such conferences, following the Southwest model, criticism and self-criticism should be vigorously carried out to advance the work of ideological reformation among teachers and educational administrators in primary, secondary, and higher schools.

As for whether similar conferences should also be held in North China and Northeast China, the North China Bureau and the Northeast Bureau are requested to give this matter due consideration.

Issued by the Central Committee on December 24, 1951, based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.

Notes  [1] Refers to the report dated December 19, 1951, submitted by the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to the Central Committee and to the provincial, municipal, and regional Party committees, concerning the Third Enlarged Plenary Session of the Cultural Committee of the Southwest Military and Administrative Commission, which discussed the issue of ideological reformation among school teachers. The report states that the main outcome of this meeting was that the school representatives gained a deeper understanding that the ideological reformation of teachers is the key to reforming the old school education system, and that the correct conduct of criticism and self-criticism constitutes the only  correct approach to such reformation. The conference yielded three principal lessons: (1) Mobilize active elements to take the lead in engaging in criticism and self-criticism, and on the basis of self-criticism, conduct benevolent criticism directed at others. Educational administrative leaders, in particular, must set an example by conducting instructive self-criticism. (2) Employ democratic methods, encourage free debate, and carry out analytical critique. This makes it easier to bring various ideological viewpoints into the open and thereby raise the ideological awareness of all participants. (3) Have leading officials personally deliver directives, and ensure that each discussion group has Party-member cadres serving as its core leadership. In this way, one can keep abreast of the situation and the guiding principles, and steer the conference forward along the correct course.