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)