Kindergartens lack qualified teachers

CRI, May 24, 2011

China's kindergartens are now faced with the great challenge of a lack of qualified teachers and an ever increasing number of children of the pre-school age, China Youth Daily reports.

Due to the rapid expansion of large kindergartens, more teachers are needed to address the supply-demand gap. While for other small-and-medium-sized kindergartens, it is harder to attract graduates majoring in pre-school education, said Ge Wenwei, president of Lafafa Education International.

The city of Beijing, for example, needs 36,000 kindergarten teachers in the next three years, but at present only 21,400 people are serving in this field, according to a China pre-schooling development report by Lafafa Education Research Institute.

In 2020, 40 million kids are expected to enter kindergartens, up 54 percent compared to that of 2009, which means 1.4 million more staff should work in kindergartens, stated Guo Fuchang, former chairman of a pre-schooling education committee under the Chinese Association for Non-government Education.

Low incomes and low job stability are mainly attributed to the current situation.

Wang Huamin, a member of China National Society of Early Childhood Education, said a common kindergarten teacher in Beijing can earn only a little more than 2,000 yuan monthly, which makes it difficult to lead a decent life in the capital city.

A survey conducted by the Municipal political advisory body shows that among 18,000 kindergarten teachers in Beijing, only 7500 have the status of a public institution employee. These teachers are on the government payroll, and their job is more stable than those without such a status.