In response to the shortage of teachers in kindergartens, the Ministry of Education is considering amending Article 8 of the "Detailed Implementation Rules of the Educational Services Personnel Ordinance" to simplify the recruitment procedures for kindergarten agents. 45 early childhood education groups issued a joint statement today supporting the revised direction, but also requested the Ministry of Education to propose specific phased plans.
Su Chuanchen, chairman of the China Early Childhood Education Association, pointed out that the teacher shortage in kindergartens is getting worse day by day, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to dispatch manpower in front-line kindergartens. Take the example of education and health care service personnel applying for childcare leave without pay. The kindergarten needs to find qualified candidates who can work stably during the agency period. If the vacancies of agency positions cannot be filled for a long time, colleagues in the classroom will have to share additional work, which may also affect the continuity of child care and teaching.
According to the amendments to the draft, those who have the qualifications of kindergarten teachers, education care workers or assistant education care workers are all legally qualified education care service personnel. The draft intends to simplify the application procedures for cross-qualification agents, including those with the qualifications of education caregivers or assistant education caregivers acting as teachers, and those with the qualifications of assistant education caregivers acting as education caregivers.
Ye Ruoqiao, president of the Federation of Early Childhood Education of the Republic of China, said that simplifying the application procedures and appropriately adjusting the order of agents will help kindergartens find qualified candidates who can take over stably during the agency period when education and care service personnel are left on duty without pay. This will also help protect the rights of education and health service personnel to apply for child care leave without pay in accordance with the law, reduce the burden on colleagues in the class, and maintain the stability of child care and teaching.
The joint statement mentioned that agents should have statutory educational security service personnel qualifications and maintain the quality of child care and teaching, which is a prerequisite for simplifying the admissions process. Simplifying the procedures will help qualified personnel take over the agency work. Whether the kindergarten can recruit and retain qualified teachers in the long term still depends on the overall manpower policy proposed by the Ministry of Education.
Early childhood education groups also called on the Ministry of Education to first take stock of the education and health care manpower gaps in various counties and cities, assist in establishing a regional agent talent pool and matching mechanism, and respond to the long-term agency needs of kindergartens. It should also focus on the four major aspects of teacher training and recruitment, working conditions and environment, improve the recruitment and retention of qualified education and health care service personnel, and gradually solve the problem of teacher shortage in kindergartens.
