Beijing, Shanghai scrap tenure for teachers
Cities to break 'iron rice bowl' of educators by ending jobs for life in favour of regular performance reviews to improve teaching quality
Teachers' Day was a little less festive in Beijing and Shanghai yesterday as teachers digested the news that the cities would be the country's first to scrap lifelong tenure in favour of regular performance reviews.
Education authorities in both cities disclosed the plans over the weekend just as teachers were preparing for the national holiday celebrating their contribution to society.
Shanghai told the China Daily that, starting this school year, primary- and middle-school teachers would have to pass exams every five years to keep their certification.
Wu Wu , the human resources chief for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, told The Beijing News that the capital was also drafting a review regime to comply with a Ministry of Education directive on improving teacher quality.
Education authorities are enacting the requirements to combat what they see as teachers' declining standards and morality.
The Teachers' Day holiday itself has become a source of concern, as parents often feel obliged to lavish teachers with expensive gifts in case their children get singled out for unfair treatment.