Primary schools in China refuse to employ non-mothers

BEIJING - Primary schools in China are employing only those childhood education graduates who are mothers, a media report said Friday.

Early education centres and nursery schools in Jilin province have said new college graduates, despite having learned the theory on early education, lack deep understanding of childcare, and employing them would be irresponsible, Global Times reported Friday quoting China National Radio.

This decision by the authorities has led to different reactions from people.

“These are just excuses from the schools. You cannot ask a person who wants to be a criminal psychologist to be a criminal first, and the same goes for teachers in nursery schools,” Wang Hongcai, professor at Xiamen University in Fujian province, was quoted as saying.

“The most important elements a person needs to be a good teacher for young children are kindness, patience and care. These qualities plus a professional knowledge of early education would be enough for a graduate to be a good teacher,” he said.

Mao Jiaojiao, a first-year graduate at China Foreign Affairs University, added: “The women who have been mothers might be more experienced in raising children in terms of when to feed them and how to calm them down when they are crying.

“But in terms of developing a child’s IQ and EQ at a young age, most ordinary mothers are not up to the level of college graduates who have received higher education and acquired professional knowledge about early education.”

Meanwhile, Dong Lizhe, a mother and a teacher at Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, said even though she had read many books for guidance before becoming a mother, knowing how to raise a child can never be learned from books.