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 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 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.
Professor Chu Zhaohui of the National Institute of Education Sciences said that while mainlanders increasingly subscribe to a market-oriented economy in which people must compete for jobs, teacher recruitment remains a remnant of the planned economy, promising an "iron rice bowl" regardless of performance.
Chu said a review regime for schoolteachers was a major step towards fostering motivation through competition. But he also cautioned that it would work only if teachers were duly rewarded for doing a better job.
Chu said: "It should [be] a process in which teachers are given a big say in the review of the performance of their peers."
The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission's certification exams will cover ethics, skills and quality of work. Teachers will also be judged on performance statistics, such as the rate of pupils' admission to high schools and colleges.
Those who have taught for more than 25 years or have passed five exams in a row would be exempted from the scheme, which is expected to soon be introduced in other cities.
But some teachers, such as Cheng Zhi , who works in Heilongjiang , argue that the requirements will only add to the burdens of teachers already struggling to cope with the stress of the mainland's exam-centric education system.
"We need to go through a lot of professional training and a get a licence before we become a teacher," said Cheng. "So I can't see the review in any way other than another money-making tool for administrators."
