What are the new changes in the qualification examinations for primary and secondary school teachers held in 28 provinces today？

　　BEIJING, Beijing, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) According to the previous examination announcements, today, the qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers (written examination) will be held in 28 provinces in the second half of 2020. In recent years, due to the increasing number of applicants, the teacher qualification examination has attracted more and more public attention. What are the new changes in the teacher qualification examination this year?

　　Data map: The teacher gives homework to the pupils in the classroom. China News Service reporter Wang Zhongju photo

　　The qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers in the second half of 2020 was held today.

　　The teacher qualification examination is held twice a year in most provinces, which is divided into the first half and the second half. In September this year, in the second half of 2020, the primary and secondary school teacher qualification examination (written test) started registration.

　　Judging from the previous registration announcements, the examination was held in 28 provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu.

　　According to the news released by the Examination Center of the Ministry of Education, the written test time of this exam is October 31st.

　　In the past two years, the teacher qualification examination has been held twice a year, and the number of applicants for each examination is above several million. In 2019, the number of primary and secondary school teacher qualification examinations was nearly 9 million. Among them, in the second half of 2019, 28 provinces across the country participated in the unified examination, and the number of applicants was as high as 5.9 million.

　　Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education, has previously analyzed the media about the high popularity of the teacher qualification examination in recent years. On the one hand, "holding a certificate" is a necessary condition for teachers to take up their posts. On the other hand, in recent years, the state has gradually required some teachers working in training institutions to obtain teacher qualification certificates.

　　As experts have said, in the past two years, a number of policies have been issued at the national level, requiring relevant primary and secondary school training teachers in offline and online educational institutions to obtain teacher qualification certificates. For example, in August 2018, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Standardizing the Development of Off-campus Training Institutions, which clearly stated that "teachers engaged in the training of Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, biology and other disciplines should have corresponding teacher qualifications".

　　"It turns out that the teachers we understand are mainly teachers who teach in public schools. However, with the development of private schools and a large number of off-campus training institutions, the recognition and entry threshold for teachers’ qualifications are gradually being adjusted and improved." Chu Zhaohui said.

　　Data map: A teacher is in class. Photo by Wang Yahai

　　How to examine "prospective teachers" in the exam?

　　From the category, primary and secondary school teachers’ qualification examination includes: kindergarten teacher qualification examination, primary school teacher qualification examination, junior middle school teacher qualification examination, ordinary senior middle school teacher qualification examination, secondary vocational school cultural course teacher qualification examination, secondary vocational school professional course teacher qualification examination, secondary vocational school internship guidance teacher qualification examination.

　　According to the introduction of the primary and secondary school teachers’ qualification examination network of the examination center of the Ministry of Education, the written examination mainly examines the basic abilities that applicants should have in the teaching profession, such as ideological and political quality, educational concept, professional ethics, knowledge of laws and regulations, scientific and cultural literacy, reading comprehension, language expression, logical reasoning and information processing. Basic knowledge of education and teaching, student guidance and class management; To teach the basic knowledge of the subject field, the knowledge and methods of teaching design implementation evaluation, and the ability to analyze and solve practical problems in education and teaching by using the learned knowledge.

　　"From the content of written examination, kindergarten and primary school sections examine two subjects, namely comprehensive quality, knowledge and ability of teaching protection/knowledge and ability of education and teaching, while middle school sections examine three subjects, namely comprehensive quality, educational knowledge and ability and subject knowledge and teaching ability." Yang Feng, an expert in Huatu Education Teacher Program, analyzed the media. The teacher qualification examination is based on the principle of strictly controlling the entrance of teachers and attaches importance to the examination of the comprehensive ability of applicants.

　　Judging from the difficulty of the examination, Yang Feng said that in recent years, the difficulty of the teacher qualification examination has been increasing year by year. In addition to the conventional memorizing topics, the proposition angle of the understanding and application topics has become more novel and flexible, focusing on examining the candidates’ understanding ability and comprehensive application ability, with special emphasis on the examination of teachers’ innovation ability.

　　Data Map: Students spell out the words "Hello teacher" and love patterns in the playground to present Teacher’s Day. Photo by Meng Delong

　　What changes have taken place in this year’s teacher qualification examination?

　　— — These people can be exempted from the teacher qualification examination subjects.

　　On the eve of the registration of this teacher qualification examination, on September 4th, the Ministry of Education announced the Implementation Plan for the Qualification Reform of Primary and Secondary School Teachers for Education Postgraduates and Public-funded Normal Students. According to the requirements of the document, colleges and universities that recruit education graduate students and normal students at public expense can participate in the examination-free certification reform from 2021.

　　Colleges and universities that implement the examination-free accreditation reform should carry out the assessment of education and teaching ability for their education graduate students and normal students at public expense according to the classification of training objectives. Graduates who pass the assessment in 2021 and beyond can be exempted from taking part or all subjects of the national primary and secondary school teacher qualification examination based on the assessment results of education and teaching ability.

　　The Examination Center of the Ministry of Education also reminds that qualified education graduate students and normal students at public expense can take part in the assessment of education and teaching ability organized by the school, or they can voluntarily take the national primary and secondary school teacher qualification examination and apply for the corresponding teacher qualification.

　　— — The first half of the exam was postponed to the second half of the year.

　　In January this year, the registration of the qualification examination for primary and secondary school teachers in the first half of this year was launched in 26 provinces across the country. However, due to the epidemic situation, the examination originally scheduled for mid-March was postponed to the second half of the year. According to the regulations, the validity period of the written test scores and certificates that have been passed in the previous period is extended by one year.

　　In order to reduce the impact on candidates, seven departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Education, issued the "Notice on Implementing the Phased Measures of" Taking Posts First, Then Verifying "for Some Vocational Qualifications in April, which stipulated that teachers in primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and secondary vocational schools should take the phased measures of" taking posts first, then verifying ".

　　— — Measures to prevent and control the epidemic situation of teacher qualification examination are deployed in various places

　　On the eve of this examination, the provinces participating in the examination announced the requirements for epidemic prevention in the examination room one after another. In addition to the temperature measurement before the candidates entered the examination room, some areas also required self-health monitoring 14 days in advance, providing negative reports of nucleic acid testing within 7 days, and filling in health commitment letters.

　　For example, Beijing Education Examinations Institute requires that all candidates who take this exam must provide a negative report of COVID-19 virus nucleic acid test within 7 days before the exam (after October 25th (inclusive)) when entering the examination room.

　　Zhejiang Education Examinations Institute requires that candidates must complete the application for Zhejiang "health code" two weeks in advance, and they must conduct health monitoring on their own from 14 days before the exam. If there is any abnormal situation, they should seek medical advice in time and report to the education examination institution at the place of registration. (End)