Teacher shortage hinders Xi Jinping’s dream to make China a great sporting nation
Those who do teach PE are on low pay and say their work isn’t valued as schools give priority to ‘more important’ subjects like maths and Chinese
As President Xi Jinping dreams of China becoming a great sporting nation, the reality in many schools across the country is that they do not have enough sports teachers because other subjects – and academic results – take priority.
The shortage of physical education teachers is a common problem at primary schools, high schools and even colleges, according to schools and government studies. And it means many young Chinese could be missing out when it comes to their sports education – learning about the value of fitness, teamwork and other life skills.
Teachers say many schools tend to allocate resources to other subjects that are deemed more important, such as maths or Chinese, while those who do get jobs teaching sport have limited room for career development and are poorly paid.
As part of the so-called Chinese dream of rejuvenating the nation, “advancing the cause of building a sports power” was included in Xi’s report to the 19th party congress in August. Under a national plan, Beijing wants one-third of the population – or 435 million people – exercising regularly by 2020.
But without enough teachers encouraging health and fitness in schools, it seems that plan is not exactly off to a flying start.
