East China Normal University (ECNU), Shanghai, will start recruiting education majors in 2007 based on personal interviews instead of scores in the national college entrance exam in order to train those who really wish to be teachers, said school officials yesterday.

 

The university will recruit 200 students next year using the new pilot admission plan making it the third such institution in the city to introduce such a scheme following Fudan and Jiao Tong.

 

High school graduates who are interested in teaching jobs are eligible to apply for appropriate training courses. But applicants will be selected on the basis of interviews to see if they've the communication skills and other abilities to become good teachers.

 

"Our point is to make sure that we put the most elite and suitable professionals into elementary education positions," ECNU President Yu Lizhong said at the Second International Forum on Teacher Education yesterday.

 

The country's existing teacher enrollment relies solely on national college entrance exam results. That system encourages many students who did well in the exam but aren't interested in becoming teachers to enroll in education programs, said Wang Jianpan, an ECNU professor.

 

The university said a great many students applied to change their major at the end of the first year and many graduates ended up taking office jobs instead of teaching positions.

 

"The loss of trained education majors is a loss to the country's teacher quality," Yu said.

 

(Shanghai Daily October 26, 2006)