Chapter 449

Arriving at the Provincial Party Committee, Lu Fan began to register and queue.

He waited until four o'clock before Lu Fan finally received an audience with Secretary Xu Yongjiang, and Secretary Sun Ao deliberately emphasized that Secretary Xu would attend a meeting twenty minutes later.

After entering the office, Lu Fan made a long story short and reported the corruption issues of two division heads in the Education Department.

After listening, Xu Yongjiang solemnly said: "If it needs to be investigated, investigate it. The Provincial Party Committee has a firm determination to punish and prevent corruption and build a clean political environment, insisting on investigating every case and questioning every responsibility, with a Zero Tolerance attitude toward corruption, fostering a political ecosystem of clean governance, and safeguarding the people's interests. Lu Fan, from the corruption issues of these two division heads we can draw a conclusion: leaders in key and sensitive positions indeed need communication and rotation; otherwise corruption will breed, and this is also out of protection for cadres. Based on this, the Provincial Party Committee intends to adjust the leadership of the Education Department, swapping Deputy Department Head Wu Daobo with the Deputy Department Head of the Culture and Tourism Department, Yang Chuanbei. What is your opinion?"

Lu Fan offered no 'resistance', replying: "The Education Department firmly supports the Provincial Party Committee's leadership, follows organizational arrangements, unites efforts, works diligently, and will devote itself entirely to educational work!"

Xu Yongjiang glanced at Lu Fan and said: "That's all for today; I still have a meeting later."

"Secretary, you're busy; I won't disturb you further—please issue any instructions at any time!" Lu Fan immediately rose to take his leave.

Although Xu Yongjiang's surface attitude remained courteous, Lu Fan could intangibly sense a distance, as if being kept at arm's length!

Forget it—when the sky rains and the mother marries off, let him go!

After leaving the Provincial Party Committee, Lu Fan went to the provincial government to report work to Governor Niu Qianhua.

Again, it was near the end of the workday when Lu Fan finally entered the governor's office.

After hearing Lu Fan's report on the corruption case, Governor Niu Qianhua's attitude was completely different, stating that the provincial government's stance toward corruption is Zero Tolerance—no matter which unit or level of leadership is involved, they must dig deep, press the attack, investigate to the end, and pursue responsibility strictly!

Regarding the Education Department's affairs, Niu Qianhua had some understanding, and he was pleased that someone was attacking Xu Yongjiang over the corruption issue.

Lu Fan would not foolishly be used as a pawn; after saying a few high-sounding words, he continued his report: "Governor, regarding after-school extended services, some problems have arisen, and parents have reacted to them, mainly concerning fees. If no fees are charged, after all it occupies teachers' rest time, so they should rightfully receive some labor compensation; therefore I wonder whether this money could be borne by the provincial finances."

Niu Qianhua spoke solemnly: "Lu Fan, I can understand your feelings and thoughts, and I am very willing to strongly support education and ease the burden on parents. However, the provincial finances are really stretched thin and unable to cope! As the saying goes, one who does not manage the household does not know the price of firewood and rice; the provincial government's work is myriad, with construction, livelihood guarantees, wage expenditures, etc., all requiring substantial funds—I wish I could split every penny in two, but for now I have no spare capacity to support your work."

Lu Fan also did not press the matter; from Niu Qianhua's attitude he could draw a conclusion: the Education Department's work would not receive leadership support, making him seem isolated from the Provincial Party Committee and provincial government, hung out high—put bluntly, neither wolves nor dogs would bother with him, he would be unwelcome, his work would not attract leadership attention, and those in the know would wait for him to leave so they could redistribute benefits.

Still the same saying: without relying on your promotions, seeking nothing, as long as within limited time and scope we do a bit more for the common people, that's enough.

Everyone's path is different—why be swayed by hearsay? This mortal world cannot possibly satisfy every wish; everything has regrets, yet everything is also worthwhile; all we ask is to have a clear conscience.

March 15, the Qinchuan Education Department announced: the former heads of the Development Division and Finance Division of the Education Department used public power for private gain, had weak sense of purpose, undermined educational equity, lived off education by education, sought personal gain through teaching, were corrupt and shameless, engaged in power-sex and money-sex transactions; they had no reverence, treating laws and regulations as scarecrows, using their positional convenience or authority to benefit others, illegally extorting and accepting huge amounts of property.

After deliberation by the stationed Provincial Education Department Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group and reporting to the Provincial Party Committee's Education Work Commission and the Education Department Party Committee for approval, it was decided to expel the two from the Party and remove them from public office; their suspected criminal offenses would be transferred to the procuratorial organs for legal review and prosecution, and the involved property would be transferred along.

These two were the 'big shots' of Qinchuan's education sector; when the news came out, the education system was shocked—it could be said to be deeply satisfying!

The Provincial Party Committee acted swiftly; just as Deputy Department Head Wu Daobo of the Education Department was panicking all day, the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee approved the cadre adjustment plan, transferring Wu Daobo to serve as a Party Committee member and deputy department head of the Provincial Culture and Tourism Department, while Yang Chuanbei was transferred to the Education Department as a Party Committee member and deputy department head.

Regarding this adjustment, Lu Fan welcomed it—corrupt elements were gone, replaced by a capable general!

Lu Fan quickly assigned the leadership team a reasonable, scientific, clear, and fair division of labor based on each deputy's strengths, personality, and familiar business domains, striving to maximize the expression of each member's talents and inner potential, basically achieving satisfaction for everyone.

As long as everyone thinks with one mind and exerts effort in one direction, forming a strong working synergy, when hearts unite even Mount Tai can be moved; the team members' spirits rise, and comrades' work enthusiasm surges accordingly—what difficulty could not be overcome? What work could not be completed well?

After Yang Chuanbei took office, Lu Fan had an in-depth exchange with him, demanding that he hit the ground running—'draw the bow' upon taking office and accelerate from the start! He should quickly familiarize himself with the business, promptly enter working condition, and actively plan the work in his assigned area.

At the same time, Lu Fan entrusted Yang Chuanbei with the responsibility for full coverage of exemption-from-exam nearby enrollment and the 'citizen joint recruitment' work, requiring him to produce a feasible plan and make this work yield tangible results.

The duty of the top leader is to set direction, manage the overall situation, and ensure implementation; everyone understands the officialdom saying 'clear water holds no fish.' Lu Fan's approach was to delegate all authority, tasks, and responsibilities to the deputies, giving them ample autonomy in their respective domains, while he himself handled logistical support and supervised implementation—anyone failing to complete their tasks would get a stern talking-to. Giving you an opportunity and you not making use of it, sitting on a cold bench is a light punishment!

Next, Lu Fan assigned the rectification work of 'having positions but not filling them' and the large-scale hiring of substitute teachers that produced 'new private-school teachers' to the second-circuit inspector Ma Xiangsheng, and the work of regulating private compulsory education development to the second-circuit inspector Zhao Xiaole. He truly used the two inspectors as members of the leadership team, letting each shoulder major responsibilities and again enjoy the taste of power.

These two inspectors were formerly division heads; their business ability needs no elaboration. After being heavily relied upon by the department head, their work enthusiasm was thoroughly aroused, and they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the tasks assigned by the department head.

Human potential is limitless; once each leader has a clear goal, they go deep to the grassroots to ask about needs and plans, listen to the voices of teachers, students, and parents, and take proactive action.

March 20, Lu Fan attended four meetings in one day because the Education Department could not find anyone to hold a meeting—all the team members had gone out for research.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, when the provincial conference on cultivating enterprises above a certain scale was opened, Executive Deputy Provincial Governor Cheng Jian also joked, 'We, a bunch of deputy officials, are holding a meeting, and you alone are the top leader!'

March 25, the Education Department held a Party Committee meeting, studied and approved the 'Work Plan for Regulating the Development of Off-Campus Training Institutions' submitted by Deputy Department Head Hu Yumei, clarifying the 'Ten Nos' requirements for off-campus training institutions, genuinely reducing the extracurricular burden on primary and secondary school students, and actively guiding parents to change their educational concepts. It also established an accountability mechanism, formulated strict penalty measures, gave heavy rewards to reporters, and conducted serious accountability for responsible parties and locations where responsibilities were not fulfilled, measures were not in place, resulting in overruns, thereby forming a joint effort of schools, families, and society in education.

Thus, under the leadership of the Education Department, a sweeping crackdown on tutoring unfolded across the province; tutoring teachers became rats crossing the street, everyone shouting to beat them. Some even turned reporting tutoring into a money-making scheme, earning twenty to thirty thousand within a week.

Under the collective effort to catch and manage, at the very least the in-post teachers dared not tutor anymore; Qinchuan Province's tutoring trend came to an abrupt halt, disappearing from the surface. Of course, many parents also scolded the Education Department, 'What business is it of mine if I tutor my child?' 'If the child's studies are poor, can't they still tutor?' Many teachers also cursed the Education Department, because their source of income had been cut off, and few dared to tutor under the risk of expulsion.

Lu Fan didn't care about these; after all, the deed was done, and as for the results, only future judgment can tell—anyway, it does not affect the annual college enrollment numbers.

April 1, the Education Department Party Committee studied the 'Interim Measures for the Supervision and Management of School Canteen Food Safety in Qinchuan Province' submitted by Committee Member Yin Linhui, incorporating school food safety work into the annual assessment of school principals and leadership teams, urging schools to establish and improve food safety management systems, perfect food safety facilities and equipment, implement food safety safeguards, reduce food safety risks, and eliminate food safety hazards.

It stipulates that school canteens implementing the nutrition improvement program must be self-managed by the school and may not be outsourced; any already contracted, transferred, or leased school canteens must be reclaimed immediately.

It requires the student parents' committee to supervise school canteens, arranging for one parent to dine with students each day. It strictly prohibits school canteens from producing and selling cold dishes; prohibits purchasing ready-to-eat cold foods; and prohibits the procurement, storage, and use of nitrates.

April 5, the Provincial Education Department and the Provincial Market Supervision Bureau issued a notice on the promulgation of the 'Interim Measures for the Supervision and Management of School Canteen Food Safety in Qinchuan Province,' and organized a working group to conduct open and covert inspections of student canteens at schools throughout the province for a period of one hundred days.

As soon as this move was made, it immediately won widespread praise from parents, who, according to the regulations, participated in the management of school canteens, fulfilling supervisory duties—every parent cares whether their child can eat well and eat enough at school.