China to train 450,000 teachers from vocational schools

Updated: 2011-12-07 13:26

(Xinhua)

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BEIJING - China will train 450,000 teachers from vocational schools during the 2011-2015 period, as the country looks to have a bigger talent pool of skilled workers to back its industrial restructuring, according to a plan promulgated by the Ministry of Education Tuesday.

The plan aims to improve the teaching quality of the faculty from vocational schools, and the training will include sessions to help teachers design better curriculum and adapt their teaching style to the demands of the market.

Some teachers will be sent to businesses so they can improve their teaching skills through practical experience, according to the ministry.

Central finance will pay for 100,000 teachers in the program, while the rest will be sponsored by provincial governments.
The ministry has required local governments to accommodate the training to the needs of regional industrial restructuring and upgrading.

The public attitude toward vocational schools, which train students to work in highly technical sectors, has been more positive in China in recent years, partially due to surging demand for skilled workers from the country's robust manufacturing industry.

In contrast with the job-hunting difficulties that graduates from universities and colleges have faced, skilled workers have had a much easier time being employed.

China's authorities have been injecting large amounts of money into vocational schools and encouraging the schools to enroll more students since the late 1990s.

Statistics showed that China had 14,800 vocational schools with 19.87 million students in 2010.

Most of the programs prescribed by the country's vocational schools last for three years and are open to students after they finish nine years of compulsory education, which includes six years of primary education and three years of secondary education.