Ministry of Education: This kind of normal students are guaranteed to enter the establishment!

In the blink of an eye, the time has entered 2024, and a new batch of publicly-funded normal students from normal universities directly under the Ministry of Education are in the critical period of graduation and interview. These "preparatory teachers" are ready to devote themselves to the education of primary and secondary schools across the country, and they will play the role of a new generation of "gardeners", shouldering the heavy responsibility of nurturing the next generation and starting their teaching and educating careers.

In order to ensure the smooth employment of publicly-funded normal students, the Ministry of Education recently issued an important notice to make arrangements for the employment of publicly-funded normal graduates of the 2024 class of normal universities under the ministry. The circular requires that all provincial-level education administrative departments ensure that publicly-funded normal students who meet the employment requirements have posts and all schools where they teach, and it is strictly forbidden to "make up for those who are staffed".

The notice also requires that by the end of May 2024, 90% of publicly-funded normal students will be guaranteed to implement teaching schools through two-way selection, and all publicly-funded normal students must be enrolled in teaching schools before leaving school.

Education is the foundation of the country, and teachers are the cornerstone of education. In recent years, the relevant policies and development of publicly-funded normal students have been the focus of continuous attention from all walks of life.

Ministry of Education: It is strictly forbidden to make up without supplementing!

In 2007, the Ministry of Education and other four departments jointly promulgated the Implementation Measures for Free Education for Normal Students in Normal Universities Directly under the Ministry of Education (for Trial Implementation), and decided to pilot the free education policy for normal students in six normal colleges under the Ministry of Education from June of that year.

In March 2018, the Ministry of Education and other departments promulgated the Action Plan for the Revitalization of Teacher Education (2018-2022), changing "free normal students" to "publicly-funded normal students", and in the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on Doing a Good Job in the Employment of Publicly-funded Normal Graduates of Normal Universities Directly under the Ministry of Education in 2019", it was proposed that "publicly-funded normal students are strictly prohibited from 'making up but not making up'".

Seven years have passed since 2018. As a key component of education in mainland China, the employment status of publicly-funded normal students has always been an important factor influencing the sustainable development and stability of education in mainland China. The implementation of the establishment and positions of publicly-funded normal students is not only to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of publicly-funded normal students, but also to be a responsible manifestation of education.

Judging from the actual situation on the mainland, there are still some problems in the field of education that cannot be ignored. For example, some localities are not very enthusiastic about recruiting publicly-funded normal students, and the establishment is idling and recruiting contract teachers. In addition, in recent years, due to the decline in school-age students due to demographic problems, some regions are taking measures to reduce the number of teachers.

In this regard, Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, believes that reiterating the strict prohibition of "making up but not supplementing" has a strong practical purpose. At present, to strengthen the construction of the teaching force, it is necessary to further increase investment in teachers and ensure the establishment of teachers, instead of adopting contract employment and reducing the number of teachers to "save" investment in education.

He pointed out that the root cause of the implementation of the establishment and posts of publicly-funded normal students lies in some local government departments, and they do not want to give publicly-funded normal students, but "do not make up for the staffing" or even reduce the number of staff. To strengthen the construction of the teaching team, it is necessary to enhance the professional honor and attractiveness of the teaching profession. In order to stimulate the vitality of the contingent of teachers, the key lies in guaranteeing the remuneration and rights of teachers and giving them autonomy in education and teaching.

A thriving publicly-funded teacher's school

In the context of the "teacher fever" in recent years, the popularity of publicly-funded normal students, as a "pearl" major in which treatment, employment and establishment are guaranteed, is naturally rising. In recent years, reports such as "the admission of publicly-funded normal students is hot, and the investment line of individual provinces is second only to Peking University and Tsinghua University" has also emerged in endlessly.

According to the data of the Sichuan Provincial Education Examination Institute, there are also 6 normal colleges and universities directly under the Ministry of Education that are also enrolled in the national public-funded normal students who are admitted in advance for undergraduates, with a total enrollment of 572 students in 2023, an increase of 13 students over 2022. In 2023, the number of applicants for the first batch of arts and science undergraduates will be 7,811, and the ratio of the number of applications to the number of students enrolled will be about 14:1.

The head of the Department of Teachers of the Ministry of Education said in a speech last year that in 2023, the normal universities under the ministry plan to enroll 8,300 publicly-funded normal students. It is planned to recruit 12,420 special normal students, an increase of 28% compared with the beginning of the implementation in 2021.

According to data from the Ministry of Education, during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, more than 37,000 publicly-funded normal students were enrolled in six normal colleges under the ministry, including Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, Northeast Normal University, Central China Normal University, Shaanxi Normal University, and Southwest University.

The upsurge of publicly-funded normal students has enabled normal colleges to improve the quality of students and laid a solid foundation for cultivating excellent teachers.

"Bringing the staff to the post" is a reassuring pill, so that the publicly-funded normal students can devote themselves to the cause of education with peace of mind and inject new vitality into the education development of their hometown.

With the vigorous development of education in mainland China, more and more attention has been paid to the policy of publicly-funded normal students. These publicly-funded normal graduates carry the expectations of their families, society and the country, and as a publicly-funded teacher, they not only have excellent educational and teaching skills, but also have good teaching ethics. The implementation of the publicly-funded teacher training policy has enabled these young and outstanding teachers to teach in primary and secondary schools in various localities in an orderly manner, contributing to the improvement of the quality of basic education on the mainland.

According to Ren Youqun, director of the Department of Teacher Work of the Ministry of Education, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the training of basic education teachers in the mainland has achieved remarkable results, and the publicly-funded education of teachers and teachers under the ministry has been implemented, with 85,000 students enrolled in 10 years, and nearly 90% of graduates have gone to the central and western regions to teach. Implement the "Excellent Teacher Program" to train 10,000 normal students every year for poverty alleviation counties and land border counties in the central and western regions. The quality of teachers at all levels and types has been continuously improved, and the structure has been continuously optimized, and the number of primary school teachers with a bachelor's degree or above has increased from 32.6% 10 years ago to 70.3% in 2021.

According to the 2023 China Undergraduate Employment Report (Employment Blue Book), the most employable occupation for the class of 2022 is "primary and secondary education" (8.5%). Among the 2022 undergraduates, 84% of the undergraduates who are engaged in teaching (i.e., teaching in "public primary and secondary schools") six months after graduation are employed in prefecture-level cities and below, which is higher than the proportion of undergraduates employed in prefecture-level cities and below (59%). Moreover, judging from the data of the past five years, the proportion of fresh undergraduate graduates teaching in prefecture-level cities and below has shown an upward trend, and the class of 2022 (84%) has increased by 6 percentage points compared with the class of 2018 (78%).

With the gradual improvement of relevant policies, it is believed that more and more young people who truly love the cause of teaching will choose to devote themselves to the cause of education, and contribute to the expansion of the team of excellent teachers, the improvement of the quality of basic education, and the promotion of educational equity.

Key Reference Sources:

[1] Ministry of Education website.

[2] The admission of publicly-funded normal students is hot: the investment line of individual provinces is second only to Peking University and Tsinghua University, and the employment treatment is favored by candidates. Sina Finance. 2022-8-4.

[3] Ministry of Education: In 2023, the normal universities under the ministry plan to enroll 8,300 publicly-funded normal students. CCTV news client. 2023-08-31.

[4] The publicly-funded teacher training became popular. Half Moon Talk. 2022-11-03.

[5] What is the deep meaning behind the strict prohibition of "making up but not supplementing"? Guangming Society Educator. 2024-01-28.

[6] Undergraduates become teachers, and more than eighty percent flock to the "small town" to teach. Max Research. 2023-09-10.