More than 330,000 teachers in Heilongjiang Province will have to say goodbye to the "iron rice bowl."

The northeast China province plans to hire elementary and high school teachers under contract instead of guaranteeing them employment for life. The practice, left over from the planned economy, is known as the "iron rice bowl." It is used by most schools around the country.

Zhang Yongzhou, director of the Education Bureau of Heilongjiang Province, said teachers will now have to compete for jobs.

Most higher education institutions in the province have already put the reforms in place. Elementary schools are next, Zhang said.

The new hiring system should be completely implemented before the winter holidays.

The competition will ensure only qualified teachers are hired, Zhang said.

Teachers left without their iron rice bowls will not be left helpless, provincial officials said.

Job-orientated training will allow teachers to upgrade their qualifications within the year. Afterwards, they will be given priority for vacancies at the schools where they previously taught. Teachers who choose to pursue another career will get subsidies equal to three years worth of basic salary.

They will also have access to the same preferential treatment as other laid-off workers if they choose to start their own businesses.

The reform will help cut down on the 44,000 redundant teachers in the province's high schools and elementary schools, Zhang said.

Harbin, the provincial capital, has more than 100,000 high and elementary school teachers.

The province has an average student-teacher ratio of 18 to 1, much higher than the national average of 23 to 1.

According to official estimates, some 59,000 redundant teachers and staff at the province's high and elementary schools will be shuffled or laid off.

(China Daily July 12, 2004)