EDUCATION IN CHINA

Chapter 1 – Organisation and management of education in China
are required to disclose whether they have a criminal
record. All applicants should apply for the certificates
in local educational administration departments at the
county level. However, the certificates are issued by
different departments according to their categories. As
for qualification certificates for teachers in pre-school,
primary school and junior secondary schools, they
are issued by county-level governments. Qualification
certificates for teachers in senior secondary school are
issued by educational administrative departments in the
upper level. Certificates for practical instructors are also
issued by educational administrative departments or by
other relevant departments. The certification process
is more complex when it comes to higher education.
Universities that are directly affiliated with the Ministry
of Education or provincial-level governments have the
right to issue certificates for their own faculties. Teachers
at other universities must hold government-approved
certificates.
FIGURE 1.5 TEACHERS TYPES AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
Teachers in colleges and universities
Teachers in senior secondary schools
Professional course teachers in
secondary vocational schools
Practical instructors in secondary
vocational schools
Teachers in junior secondary school, for professional course teachers in junior secondary vocational schools
Teachers in primary schools
Teachers in pre-school education institutions
Source: Teacher’s Law of the People’s Republic of China, 1993.
The qualification system has undergone reform
recently. In the new system, the teacher’s qualification
examination is held nationally. Every certificate applicant
has to pass the examination except the applicants for
higher education. In the past, the examination was
held at the provincial level mostly, and graduates from
dedicated teacher training schools were allowed to skip
the exam. Currently, there are separate examinations for
pre-school, primary, secondary and vocational education,
all of which consist of two parts: the written examination
and the interview. Further description of exam content
is listed in Table 1.1. The written examination is
taken partly on paper and partly on a computer. The
interview includes a structured interview and situational
simulation. Interviewers may ask applicants to answer
questions from randomly selected topics. Or candidates
may be asked to prepare a course, answer questions
about it, present the course and create an evaluation for
students based on the material.
According to the Teacher’s Law, schools and other
educational institutions should progressively adopt a
system where teachers are recruited using employment
contracts. The recruitment contract is issued by
government at the county level and above, or by schools
that demonstrate some special conditions. The whole
recruiting process should be open and transparent, which
makes the competition more equal. The tradition of
permanent employment, what was known conventionally
as the “Iron Rice Bowl”, has been challenged by the
introduction of teacher contracts. Now teachers must,
according to their terms of employment, satisfactorily
meet regular inspections and appraisals.
18 – EDUCATION IN CHINA: A SNAPSHOT © OECD 2016