Recently, the Max Research Institute released the "China-World Higher Education Trends Report (2023)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). According to the report, in 2023, the education departments in many places have requested to control the new distribution of education majors in colleges and universities. In addition, according to a study by Qiao Jinzhong, an associate professor at the Institute of Higher Education of the Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University, by 2035, there will be a surplus of about 1.5 million primary school teachers and 370,000 junior high school teachers in the country.
Note: The data in this article ** is researched by Max, if there is any discrepancy, please refer to the official one.
"Teacher fever" cools down?
Many places require colleges and universities to control the new distribution of education majors
In recent years, the college entrance examination voluntary filling in the ** has become an obvious phenomenon of "teacher fever". At the same time, many provinces and cities have begun to take the initiative to "cool down" education majors in the dynamic adjustment of majors.
Since 2021, the Ministry of Education has continuously mentioned "avoiding the establishment of a large number of 'overheated' majors" in the "Notice on Carrying out the Establishment of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities" issued by the Ministry of Education in the past three years。In 2023, many places across the country have also specifically mentioned the new distribution of control education majors.
Notice of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education on the Establishment of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities (** on the official website of the Ministry of Education).
The report found that in March 2023, the Ministry of Education announced the results of the filing and approval of the establishment of higher vocational education majors in 2023. There are 249 education majors in the application for the proposed establishment of state-controlled professional points, a decrease of 77 and 104 compared with 2022 and 2021, respectively. There are 112 education majors that are clearly disagreed with in the review, accounting for 45%; The proportion of new education majors that fail is 12 percentage points higher than that in 2021 (33%).
Normal students, is there really a surplus? Does the frequent restriction of the new distribution of normal majors indicate that the highly sought-after education majors in recent years have the risk of "overheating"?
The Ministry of Education's education statistics show thatIn the past five years, the number of graduates majoring in education has continued to grow. The number of graduates in the field of education in general undergraduate colleges and universities increased from 14 in 2017190,000 people, which has grown to 18430,000 people, a 30% increase in size in five years.
There has also been a surge in the number of graduates of education and sports majors from general colleges. The data shows that the number of graduates in these two categories has increased from 36 in 2017200,000 people, an increase of 48 in 2021620,000 people, an increase of 34% in five years.
*In the Max Institute's China-World Higher Education Trends Report (2023).
In terms of the scale of employment, the number of normal graduates who are engaged in education-related jobs after graduation has also increased in the past five years. Among them, the number of normal graduates of ordinary undergraduate colleges has increased from 38 in 2017960,000, an increase of 42670,000 peopleIt has grown by nearly 10% in five years
It is necessary to wake up to the fact that while the number of teachers trained and the number of teachers has risen sharply, the school-age population in the compulsory education stage has shown an accelerated downward trend.
According to the research results of Qiao Jinzhong, associate professor of the Institute of Higher Education of the Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University, from 2020 to 2035, the number of students enrolled in compulsory education in China will show a short-term slow increase, reach a peak in 2024, and then accelerate the downward trend.
According to relevant reports, some large and medium-sized cities have been closed down due to the decline in the school-age population.
How should ordinary candidates deal with the cooling of "teacher fever"? As soon as the news of "there may be a surplus of nearly 2 million teachers in the country in 2035" comes out, it may make many normal students, or candidates who are preparing to apply for normal schools and majors, feel anxious and confused. So, how should such candidates deal with the general trend of "teacher fever" cooling down?
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, believesThe current model of teacher training needs to be adjusted. At present, there are not only quantitative but also qualitative problems in teacher training. In terms of ability, teachers lack autonomy and elective courses, leading students to openInsufficient capacity to carry out activities。In addition,It should be considered in the medium and long termHow to set up a teaching position. Third,Teacher turnover should also be taken into account。Around 2000, due to the recruitment of some old teachers from various places, many schools did not recruit new teachers for 10 consecutive years, resulting in a gap in the age of teachers.
For example, many kindergarten principals said that in the future, the competition for students will become more intense, and as a direct resultWhether it can give attractive preferential policies, strong enrollment programs and "special courses" will become the key to the survival of kindergartens.
From the perspective of market demand, for normal colleges and professional studentsImproving one's overall quality and skills as much as possible in a limited time will also become the key to their "survival of the fittest".
The first round of closures has come, and kindergartens are "hard to find" (*in China News Weekly).
Chu Zhaohui also gave moreHe believes that for students, as long as they really love the teaching profession, they can still consider applying for exams and engaging in related jobs。If you don't love it, you just want to study as a teacher teacher and find a job, or you think that this industry is easy to find a job, it may be more difficult. Because graduates of many other majors can also choose teaching positions. From this point of view, the most important thing is to loveIf you really love it, you will do it better than others, and it will not be easy to be eliminated.
*: Provincial Department of Education, China News Weekly.
Review: Yuan Guanghong.
Editor-in-charge: Lian Xinglian.
Editor: Shi Tianhui.
Design: Bethlena.