Deputies to the annual session of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress (MPC), the city’s legislature, have actively offered suggestions on making quality educational resources available to more students, in response to the city government’s goal of delivering education to satisfy the people.
Liu Ling, an MPC deputy and the principal of Shenzhen Experimental Kindergarten, keeps her focus on advancing quality preschool education.
According to Liu, preschool educators’ professional qualifications are very high, and the demand for early childhood professionals continues to increase as parents look for providers who can guide their child’s development.
“Kindergarten teachers need to be well-versed in educational psychology, health science and sociology, as well as to be aware of the needs of children with special needs,” Liu said. “They also need to be responsible and have solid communication skills.”
She pointed out that no more than 10% of kindergarten teachers in Shenzhen have a full-time undergraduate degree and only 0.76% have a master’s degree.
Liu suggested that the city should enhance kindergarten teacher quality and refine the supporting policies for preschool educators, such as salary and benefit packages, teaching staff structure, professional title evaluation and employment, as well as training.
Deputy Xiao Youmei noted that Shenzhen’s current financial investment in higher vocational education is much heavier than that in secondary vocational education.
According to Xiao, if the government can increase investment and effectively improve the operating quality and level of secondary vocational schools to make them more attractive to students and parents, it will not only reduce the enrollment pressure of general high schools, but also promote the high-quality development of vocational education in Shenzhen.
“The city should also pay attention to secondary vocational schools’ distinctive development,” said Xiao, adding that Shenzhen Arts School, for instance, has the potential to become a national model in vocational art education.
Shenzhen plans to reconstruct and build 178 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in 2022, according to the government work report.
Construction on high school parks in Pingshan, Guangming and Longgang districts will be completed this year, and construction on the high school park in Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone will be expedited.
Shenzhen will strengthen cultivating and introducing outstanding educators, promote the transformation and development of privately run schools and standardize international school development, as per the report.
The city also intends to roll out guidance on the development of higher education disciplines and promote high-level and distinctive development of higher education.