The number of full-time teachers in China has grown by 26 percent in the past ten years to reach 18.44 million last year, the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday.

More than 70 percent of primary schoolteachers hold a bachelor's degree or higher, up from 32.6 percent in 2012, said Ren Youqun, director of the ministry's Department of Teacher Education.

The number of supervisors for postgraduate students grew from 229,000 to 424,000, while supervisors for PhD candidates increased from 69,000 to 132,000, he said at a news conference introducing the development of teachers since the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress in 2012.

Ren said that salaries have increased steadily, and all counties have understood that the average salary of primary and middle school teachers should be no less than those of government officials.

The central government has allocated more than 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in extra subsidies to 1.3 million teachers in rural areas and another 26 billion yuan was invested by the central government in building dormitories for 830,000 rural teachers.

A special program has helped recruit 1.03 million teachers to rural schools in central and western regions, and another program has rehired 221,000 retired teachers to teach in rural and underdeveloped regions.

In the past ten years, some 4,300 teachers have won national model teachers and exemplary teachers' awards, and the social status and respect for teachers have both increased steadily, Ren added.