aggravated by relentle ssurbanization. With respect to educational and medicalfacilities, ayawning gap has
emerged between those in cities andthe rural ones.This manifest chasm has prompted some to suggestthat
teachers anddoctors fresh out of university work in thecountry for a fewyears.Yet many are opposed to this view on
thegrounds that itinfringes upon individual freedom to choose wheretheywork.Personally, I think both these two
views have meritanddemerit.Granted,assigning new teachers and doctors tothecountryside may create certain
benefits.To begin with,thispracticecan help foster a strong sense of obligation in manyteachers anddoctors.They can
experience first-hand how therural residentsare held back by the out-moded teaching and medicalfacilities andthis,
in turn, can inspire a host of professionals tocommitthemselves to the alleviation of this
disturbingsituation.Moreover,the inferior living and working conditions inthe countrycan temper many of these young
professionals’ soul.Theyare verylikely to be more tenacious and determined and hencemoresuccessful than their
urban counterparts inlatercareers.However,there are even more drawbacks that thispracticecan engender.In the
first place,many young teachers anddoctorswill feel unmotivated or frustrated if they are sent torural areasagainst
their own will.They may have a hard time gettingaccustomedto the shabby housing and primitive facilities and
slackoff atwork.In the second place,if new teachers and doctors arecoerced towork in the countryside, a
considerable proportion ofthem may findit daunting when it comes time for them to relocate tocities aftera few years
in the country.They will feel intenseoccupationalstress when they cannot operate efficiently equipmentmuch
moreadvanced than the devices they are used to back in thecountryschool or hospital. Last but not least, given
theinferiority ofthe rural educational and medical facilities,it ishighly probablethat the inexperience of new teachers
and doctorswill lead tounsatisfactory job performance in rural schools andclinics.Wereally cannot expect fresh
recruits to work wonders withoutdatedtools.In the final analysis,I concede that sending teachersanddoctors fresh
out of college to the countryside mayproducespecific advantages. However,if we enforcethisindiscriminately,that will
surely generate even more banes.Onbalance, I am convinced that we should optimize our workforceandhonor the
individual freedom in determining wheretheywork
