BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Beijing plans to enroll more teaching students to tackle a shortage, especially in elementary education, according to local educational authorities.
An additional 1,000 teaching students will be recruited every year in three major universities in Beijing from 2018 to 2022, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission said.
The universities include Capital Normal University, normal school of Beijing Union University and Capital University of Physical Education and Sports.
Majors in music, fine art and art education will be encouraged in four other Beijing universities to train more teachers, the commission said in a guideline.
Vocational colleges in Beijing will expand enrollment of students majoring in elementary education, the commission said. Government funds will be allocated to pay part of their tuition and other expenses.
Beijing also announced it will hire 1,000 teachers nationwide to teach history, geography, politics and biology in middle and primary school from 2018 to 2020, as there has been a shortage in these areas.
China allowed couples to have two children from 2016 in response to an aging population, but the number of teachers has not kept pace with the the number of newborns.
Official statistics show that there were 17.23 million babies born in 2017.
A report from the Education Policy Center of Southwest University shows that demand for preschool education will sharply increase from 2019 and reach its peak in 2021.
The report estimates a shortfall of 3 million kindergarten teachers nationwide by 2021.
The State Council has issued a plan on educational development for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), aiming to make the country's preschool education more inclusive.
