The unregistered teaching positions in Xiamen are no longer attractive? In the industry: those who should take the exam still do, "some are still eager to compete."

Recently, the topic of the cold reception of teacher recruitment in Xiamen has sparked heated discussions on social media.

The reason is that the Xiang'an District Education Bureau of Xiamen recently issued a notice on the cancellation and reduction of some positions for the public recruitment of outstanding teachers (April 2024), stating that the number of candidates who passed the initial qualification review compared to the planned number of recruits did not reach a ratio of 3:1, and the recruitment for those positions would be canceled in principle.

According to the Xiaoxiang Morning News, the Publicity Department of the Xiang'an District Education Bureau of Xiamen stated in an interview with reporters that the positions recruited this time indeed have no establishment and are operated under a contract system.

The so-called "contract system" means that teachers are no longer included in the establishment and are managed under a contract system. In terms of salary and promotion, the contract system is consistent with established positions, but the employment and exit mechanisms are more flexible. Some practitioners have expressed that this means the disappearance of the "iron rice bowl."

Regarding the recent cold reception of teacher recruitment in Xiamen, the cancellation of establishment is just one of the reasons. Mr. Zhang, a teacher at a public primary school in Xiamen, told the Times Weekly that "this recruitment is for outstanding teachers, with high thresholds, and the school locations are relatively remote. In addition to the lack of establishment, it is not surprising that it received a cold reception. But if the threshold is lowered, there should be many applicants."

The Times Weekly found that in recent years, the voices advocating for the transformation of teachers' establishment status have been frequent, but the actual implementation in cities is minimal. Why did Xiamen take the lead? What is the impact of the transformation of teachers' establishment status on the local education industry?

Still in high demand

"Being a teacher is about seeking stability. If the establishment is canceled, what are we seeking?"

"If it's canceled, I won't have any attachment. Finally, I can go set up a stall."

"The advantage of public schools is stability and having an establishment. If the establishment is canceled, won't good teachers all go to private schools?"...

In recent days, the incident of no one applying for the non-establishment teacher positions in Xiamen has sparked heated discussions on social media. Some education practitioners have expressed that after the transformation of establishment status, public primary and secondary schools are no longer "hot cakes"; some netizens have questioned that the transformation of teachers' establishment status will lead to the flow of high-quality educational resources to private schools, which may exacerbate educational imbalances; and some students majoring in education have expressed concerns about the trend of teachers' establishment transformation.

The Times Weekly found that the transformation of teachers' establishment status in Xiamen has not been the first to spark heated discussions. As early as 2023, the Xiamen Education Bureau issued a public notice, planning to recruit 1409 teachers for public primary and secondary schools and vocational schools in Xiamen that year. The teachers in primary and secondary schools are employed under the system of public institutions, namely the "contract system."

However, it is not a "one-size-fits-all" cancellation of establishment. Some teacher positions are open to fresh Ph.D. graduates and students with government-funded teacher training, aiming to attract high-quality teaching staff.

For the larger group of students majoring in education, "contract system" is consistent with established positions in terms of salary and promotion, "but with the contract system, there may be a risk of dismissal in the future, which is not as stable as the establishment," explained Mr. Zhang.

After the transformation of establishment into the contract system for a year, has the local teacher recruitment in Xiamen cooled down?

"It may affect a very small number of people, but both I and my friends are still taking the exams as before."

Yaya, who works in a private school in Xiamen, has been preparing for the exams for public schools in the past two years. In an interview with the Times Weekly, he said that the "contract system" for teachers in Xiamen still offers competitive treatment, "many teacher positions are still in high demand, and it can still be described as 'fierce competition.'"

Mr. Zhang also told the Times Weekly that in the public primary school where his family member works, after the transformation of establishment into the contract system, the recruitment is still popular. "It's normal for dozens of people to compete for one position, and there are even hundreds of people competing for one position."

"Need to be very cautious"

The non-establishment teacher positions in Xiamen are still popular, and behind this may be the generally high salaries of public primary and secondary schools in Xiamen.

"Many students who have just graduated are hired with an annual salary of over 200,000 yuan, and some even receive generous housing subsidies," Yaya said, and such income levels are quite considerable in Xiamen. This statement has been confirmed by many local education practitioners and ordinary citizens in Xiamen.

Mr. Zhang added that unlike many private primary and secondary schools in other cities that are on par with or even surpass public schools, the top and even the entire middle and upper levels of primary and secondary schools in Xiamen are public. Even after the transformation of establishment, the salaries of these public schools are significantly higher than those of private schools, "so Xiamen is the first city in the country to implement the transformation of teachers' establishment status, because it is not worried about the loss of high-quality teaching staff."

This statement may not be an exaggeration.

The Times Weekly found that at the end of 2023, Xiamen Daily published a teacher recruitment announcement, stating that Xiamen plans to recruit 1468 primary and secondary school teachers (including special education schools and secondary vocational schools) for the 2024 graduates, all under the contract system. Some municipal directly affiliated schools and district education bureaus introduced annual income in the recruitment brochure, such as a municipal directly affiliated school listing an annual income of about 240,000 to 260,000 yuan after regularization, and also specifying after-tax, housing provident fund, and other benefits. Many districts also offer living subsidies such as settling-in, housing, and renting.

Regarding the reasons for the high salaries, Liu Ping, a senior education practitioner in Xiamen, explained to the Times Weekly that around 2017-2018, Xiamen began to strictly implement the provision in the Teacher's Law that "teacher salaries should not be lower than those of local civil servants." In order to attract high-quality teaching staff from surrounding areas, the salaries of local public primary and secondary school teachers began to increase significantly, and related positions became significantly more popular.

It can be seen that in recent years, the voices advocating for the transformation of teachers' establishment status have been frequent, but the actual implementation in cities is minimal. As one of the cities with the strongest implementation, Xiamen may have its regional specificity— the salaries of public schools are attractive enough.

The Time Weekly interviewed practitioners in public primary and secondary schools in other provinces and cities and learned that a considerable number of in-service teachers, especially in third-tier cities and below, have a monthly take-home income of three to four thousand yuan. There are also multiple second-tier cities where the annual comprehensive income of in-service teachers is less than 100,000 yuan. At this time, practitioners pay more attention to the "stable and secure" attributes of being a teacher.

If the teacher establishment is abolished, public schools will lose their appeal to candidates, and teacher candidates will turn their attention to private schools with higher salaries. In other words, an inevitable trend is that high-quality educational resources in related areas will tilt towards private schools.

"The abolition of teacher establishment and the implementation of contract employment is an exploration in very few areas, so it needs to be very cautious."

Xiong Bingqi, the director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said in an interview with the Time Weekly that the starting point of abolishing teacher positions and implementing contract employment is to establish a flexible mechanism for teacher recruitment and exit. Supporters believe that this can motivate teachers to work hard and not be complacent because of the establishment, and local finances can also be relieved of pressure. In recent years, the declining population will lead to an excess of teachers due to a decrease in students. Contract employment can flexibly adjust the teacher workforce according to the situation.

"However, this is a prediction made based on the unchanged teacher-student ratio. If the teacher-student ratio is increased and class sizes are reduced, there will not be an excess of teachers at all." Xiong Bingqi believes that with the decrease in the number of school-age students, efforts should be made to vigorously promote the construction of small schools and small classes, improve school construction standards and teacher-student ratios, and implement small-class teaching, thereby building a high-quality basic education system.

As for the pilot areas that have implemented the abolition of teacher establishment, Xiong Bingqi suggested that it should be made clear that schools must ensure equal pay for equal work and guarantee equal treatment for non-establishment teachers and establishment teachers.