Great posts BillDan and tigertiger.

Easy Peasy:
Pay high&realistic salaries and (not even 10.000Yuan is realistic) for a professional teacher-disregarding his/her qualifications.

After that put the a proper Academic Director in the office (Good teacher with training background or credentials). And laziness will disappear. (as well as a teacher here and there).

Unprofessional teachers end in unprofessional places. Unprofessional teachers in professional places, will get fired.
The School is responsible for the education standard and goals.
They have to observe teachers, plan teacher parent conferences, class observation, training and so on.

Btw. You can't compare an Expat salary with a local teacher, everyone in the Expat HR field will tell you that. Schools, Hospitals even the Army are businesses and have to be managed that way.

Imagine they would cancel all the Visas of the illegal teachers, it'll never happen because China needs the teachers and they will work hard when in the right team under right supervision and with a proper pay and benefit plan. Maybe even a career:)

Good education is expensive but profitable. So be smart build business models that make everyone happy...or at least happier.

Then everyone is winning.
It's quite easy in my experience,... if they let you. ;)

As easy as posting in a forum?

As easy peasy queazy sleazy as a quadruple post?

Alas, not so easy.
If you pay high salaries the money has to come from somewhere. The parents will not pay the higher prices. They would expect better teachers for the same price, this is natural considering everything. Market forces then create an impenetrable wall.

The university pay is governed by bodies outside of the university, and this is public money. I don't see that going up real soon.
Teachers can try to control the supply by refusing to accept work for less than a certain amount, but as long as there is some kid in the US who is loved up with the idea of coming to China there are more people willing to take the place, who are less/non experienced. This is a negative spiral. That is where we are at right now.

It's almost easier than posting quadruple posts...should be a new sport!

The pay is not a problem, let's step aside from the assumption that poor farmers send their kids to the schools we work at.
If you see the prices charged at MyGym and WhatNot just for them to see a silly foreigner doing silly stuff.

You will be aware that the money is there and that a monthly tuition is NEVER less than 500Yuan and look at your class size and you will see where the money is.

In short the Schools have money they just don't invest it right.
As you probably know there is a hight drift towards quality and if quality is delivered then there will be $$.

Parents just send their kids to certain schools because, parents like anywhere just don't know what they want or where they can get it.
So they go by the elimination method they go from school to school, by price, or the teacher, or location, brand...etc.
Let them know what they will get (for real) and they will join (or at least come back). Chinese parents aren't stupid. The ones I met are awesome and understanding.

That is why you need an Academic Director, to restore quality, which you can sell then to customers as high quality. Plus the students results.

Universities are financed by the gov. but that doesn't mean that they don't have the money, it's just that they don't want to spend it where it's needed. Check what car your Uni. Dean is driving and the banquets they throw for even lower VIP guests (even us foreign teachers- at Bei Da in 2006).

If good,pro. teachers ask for the right jobs and the right pay then all other schools have to follow. (It's China but the same rules of business apply.) And they do...

Academic goals and demands is a different story.

OK!
The first thing we need to do is re-educate society.

I have had kids baulk at paying 20RMB for something needed for class. These are the kids who have iPhone, iPad, and designer sports ware. There is a problem with perceptions of value, but this is true in every society.

Yes, some 'teachers' didnt even pass high school, know nothing about teaching pedagogy, child psychology, theories, have never worked with kids before, can barely speak english themselves, and, frankly, some are just creepy, yet they can get hired at almost any school here. The standards are far too low, and those who have studied for 4 years to become a qualified teacher get the same pay as these people. It's a joke. And just sad, really.

Some schools just want a white face so they can flaunt the foreign 'expert' and sell the idea. This is china.

Dudesons, u r right. The money is never spent in the right places. Some teachers are desperately asking for paper, tape, pencils for the kids but can't get it, while the second tier bosses are driving flashy work cars with a ridiculous salary, yet they do nothing it seems. The kids miss out. I can't stand seeing this sort of thing happen. Such a waste. In other countries there would be public outcry. There are too many problems with the schools here.