Chinese government proposes tighter teacher qualifications

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BEIJING, Sept. 5 -- The Ministry of Education has suggested that four laws related to education be revised to solve lingering problems in China's schooling system.

The draft motion about amending the four laws was published on Thursday on the website of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council to solicit public opinions.

According to the document, the education department suggested that the Teachers Law should be amended to place more stringent requirements on teachers' qualifications.

Under the current Teachers Law, a person with an academic diploma in teaching can subsequently get a teaching certificate while those without such a diploma can pass a government exam to get the certificate.

The ministry proposed to abolish the articles and require all teachers to gain an academic diploma on teaching and pass an exam.

It also suggested in the motion that teachers at nurseries, primary and middle schools should be assessed regularly by local education departments in terms of their performance and integrity.

The law should add an item stipulating that headmasters must have at least five years' experience of teaching and management, the document said.

The ministry has made several moves to impose stricter scrutiny on teachers in the wake of a series of scandals involving teachers molesting or raping students.

In a document released on Tuesday, the ministry announced plans to establish an annual evaluation and problem-reporting system regarding teachers' integrity, in order to "purify" the profession with "dynamic supervision."

China currently has more than 14 million teachers.

Other revisions to the Education Law, the Law of Higher Education and the Law on Promotion of Non-government Education were also proposed in the motion.

It will be submitted to the country's legislature for reading if it is approved by the State Council.

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