Teachers around China should learn from their counterparts in the quake zones who flung themselves into coping with the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, State Councilor Liu Yandong said on Monday, two days ahead of China's Teachers' Day.

Liu made the speech during an awarding ceremony to honor teachers who have devoted themselves to post-quake relief work after the May 12 8.0-Magnitude earthquake in Sichuan.

"A number of teachers in the quake zones have sacrificed their own well-beings to save their students, and have devoted themselves to school reconstruction," Liu said.

"Teachers around the country should add the spirits of coping with the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake to their work, and aim to be teachers satisfactory to their students and to the society," she said.

She called for more efforts to improve the benefits enjoyed by Chinese teachers, and to safeguard their rights.

Liu also urged talented individuals to take up teaching posts, and to level up the overall quality of teachers in the rural areas of the country.

"Teaching should be the most glorious profession in the whole society," she stressed.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)