The predicted "baby boom" in the Year of Pig has affected schools in Shanghai as many teachers take pregnancy or maternity leave.

 

A high school in Jing'an District had four pregnant teachers already, said a headmaster, adding the number would continue to rise.

 

Another four teachers who were just married were also planning families, he said.

 

The trend has caused problems. "Those who just got pregnant ask for leave constantly because of their condition, and we have to reduce their classes or remove them from teaching graduate classes," complained the headmaster.

 

Some schools required up to 10 teachers to fill the vacancies. According to another headmaster, the rate of pregnant teachers in a school should be no more than 10 percent, otherwise it would the affect the students' education.

 

To meet the shortage, some schools have asked other teachers to take over classes left by pregnant colleagues, but those with limited resources have had to recruit retired teachers, borrow from other schools, or even hire postgraduate students as temporary teachers.

 

A teaching university postgraduate student named Xiao Chen, hired by a middle school to teach biology, told the Shanghai Morning Post that he received the qualification certificate after getting his undergraduate diploma. He said he also needed an internship before graduation, indicating it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

 

According to school regulations, a teacher can get six months of maternity leave. Those who take over colleagues' classes have double the workload, and some subjects had fewer teachers than others.

 

To avoid such trouble, many schools reach agreements with teachers who are about to teach graduating classes that they refrain from starting families during the year. Teachers who do have plans are not assigned graduating classes.

 

Most parents said they understood teachers wanting to start families, but many hope their child can avoid those teachers, according to the report.

 

In Shanghai, about 30 to 40 percent of teachers in primary and middle schools are young or middle-aged. In some schools, more than half of the teachers are aged below 35, the report said.

 

According to the Chinese traditional calendar, the next lunar year is believed to be the year of the "golden pig". Such a year comes only once every 60 years and babies born in this year are believed to have luck and fortune and a long life.

 

Many couples are planning to have a baby during the "Year of Pig", which begins on Feb. 18. As a result, housemaids trained to care for babies and mothers are fully booked this year and their wages have soared.

 

However, some experts have refuted the belief, saying next year is actually not a "golden pig" but an "earth pig" year, and that it is groundless and unscientific to believe babies born next year are specially fated for fortune.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2007)