Future Uncertainty for 'Cheolbaptong' Teachers
As the low birthrate issue continues in China, parents at a rural school facing consolidation and closure have staged a group protest, kneeling in front of the school.
On the 5th (local time), videos showing parents holding banners reading "Oppose School Closure and Merger" and protesting in front of a school were posted on Chinese social networking services (SNS) such as Weibo. The released footage shows protesting parents kneeling on the ground one after another.
Local authorities claimed that consolidating schools would improve the quality of education. An official stated, "If two schools merge into one, operating costs will be reduced, allowing us to provide a better educational environment for students." However, parents pointed out that school consolidation would inevitably increase commuting time. They said, "Besides the long distances, public transportation is not well established," adding, "Due to transportation accessibility issues, some students are forced to live in dormitories from an early age."
Netizens who learned about the incident responded with comments such as "It seems unavoidable due to the low birthrate problem," "More schools like this will likely appear in the future," and "Kneeling won't solve anything."
Meanwhile, China's low birthrate trend is even threatening the jobs of teachers, once considered 'iron rice bowls.' Private kindergartens have already been closing down, and there are forecasts that 1.9 million primary and secondary school teachers will lose their jobs.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), teachers in China face an uncertain future due to the declining birthrate. SCMP reported that education, once known as an 'iron rice bowl' and the most preferred occupation among Chinese job seekers during times of economic uncertainty, is now facing a shrinking school-age population due to the birthrate decline, with millions expected to lose their jobs within the next decade.
China is experiencing economic growth slowdown as the number of retirees rapidly increases and the number of newborns decreases. The number of newborns in China has steadily declined since 2017. Last year, the number of births dropped sharply by more than 500,000 to about 9 million. The number of kindergarten students decreased for the first time in 20 years in 2021. The number of elementary school students also fell to 107 million in 2022, marking a decline for the first time in 10 years.
Zhu Jiaohui, a senior researcher at the Chinese National Institute of Education Sciences, said, "With fewer students, layoffs of teachers in schools will be inevitable in certain periods or regions," adding, "Local governments facing increased financial burdens will drastically reduce teacher recruitment this year." However, she noted that the birthrate decline will depend on the measures the authorities plan to implement in the coming years.
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