Several Chinese provinces are cutting back on teacher recruitment because of the falling numbers of schoolchildren in recent years, in a reflection of the country’s deepening demographic challenges.
Deep cuts in teaching positions – widely regarded in China as stable and socially respected – add further uncertainty to the already bleak jobs market as the country grapples to create enough work for its massive labour force, especially new graduates.
Education authorities in the eastern province of Jiangxi said this year’s new preschool, primary and secondary school teaching positions would be cut by 54.7 per cent to 4,968 – less than one-third of its recruitment two years ago.
In neighbouring Hubei province, recruitment of schoolteachers has dropped one-fifth over the same period.
The main reason for the fall appears to be the declining numbers of schoolchildren, as China experiences a period of “ultra-low” fertility, with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman over a lifetime.
The China Population and Development Research Centre estimates that the total fertility rate dropped to 1.09 in 2022, while the number of births halved between 2016 and 2023, to 9.02 million.
Jiangxi’s education department acknowledged the challenge in an official reply to suggestions on system reform at the end of June. “[The] low fertility rate will become one of the main risks for the country’s population development,” it said.
According to the Jiangxi authorities, the province’s population share of children aged 0-15 has fallen in each of the past four years, with a drop of 480,900 last year – the biggest decline since 2020.
Education resources must be restructured in response to the decreasing fertility rate, the department said, noting the closure of one-fifth of schools in the province’s rural areas with fewer than 100 students.
A similar situation in Hunan province, in central China, last year prompted education authorities to announce there would be no new kindergartens built in rural areas.
The number of children in Hunan’s kindergartens decreased by 14.79 per cent to 319,400 in 2023, compared to the previous year.
The same pattern occurred across the country, with national data showing a decrease in the number of preschool children for the third consecutive year.
According to the Ministry of Education, there were fewer than 275,000 kindergartens last year – a drop of 14,800 from 2022. Enrolments declined in the same period by 5.35 million to 40.9 million.
Rural areas are under greater pressure from the demographic changes, according to Dong Yuzheng, president of the Guangdong Social Sciences Association in southern China.
As the population urbanises and concentrates in large and medium-sized cities, rural areas experience a decrease in population, which also leads to a reduction of preschool students, Dong told business media outlet Yicai.com.
