Schools in China closing amid population decline

Faced with a declining birth rate and ageing population, China is experiencing a shortage of schoolchildren. As a result, multiple provinces are scaling back teacher hiring, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

Major cutback in teaching jobs, traditionally seen as secure and prestigious in China, are worsening the country's employment challenges. With a massive labour force, particularly among young people, creating sufficient jobs has become increasingly difficult.

Education authorities in the eastern province of Jiangxi informed this year’s new preschool, primary and secondary school teaching positions would be cut by 54.7 percent to 4,968 – less than one-third of its recruitment two years ago.

While in the neighbouring Hubei province, employment of schoolteachers has dropped by one-fifth over the same period.

Main reason for the decline drop 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.

As per the Jiangxi authorities, the province’s population share of children aged 0-15 has declined in each of the past four years, with a drop of 480,900 last year – the biggest decline since 2020.

With a drop in student numbers, the department has determined that education resources need restructuring. This decision comes as 20% of rural schools with fewer than 100 pupils have been shut down.

Same circumstances prevail in central China’s Hunan province. Last year education authorities announced there would be no new kindergartens built in rural areas.

Notably, the total number of children in Hunan’s kindergartens decreased by 14.79 per cent to 319,400 in 2023, compared to the last year.

A similar condition prevailed across the country, with national data showing a decline in the number of preschool children for the third consecutive year.

The Ministry of Education report shows that there were fewer than 275,000 kindergartens previous year – a drop of 14,800 from 2022. Enrolments declined in the same period by 5.35 million to 40.9 million.(WION)