China will focus on building high-level teacher training universities over the next five years as part of broader efforts to enhance the country's teacher education system and capabilities, according to a recent notice.

Issued by the Ministry of Education and the National Development and Reform Commission, the notice emphasizes combining hard infrastructure investment with soft capacity development, prioritizing the cultivation of future teachers' scientific literacy and practical skills. Key objectives include building first-class teacher education colleges, specialized disciplines and curricula.

Reforms will be carried out in existing teacher training programs, integrating undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Practical training and teaching will account for a larger portion of the curriculum for education majors, who will be required to complete more than 18 weeks of mock teaching, the notice said.

Universities will also be encouraged to have their faculty members participate in training primary and secondary school teachers. Such contributions will be considered in evaluations for higher professional titles and awards, it said.

More resources will be allocated to teacher training colleges in underdeveloped regions, the notice added.

Funding will be coordinated through central government budgets, ultra-long-term special national bonds and local special government bonds.

The ministry and NDRC will plan institutional layouts based on teacher training needs, setting basic criteria for eligible institutions. Local governments will provide guidance and support, with implementation rolled out in phases based on institutional preparedness and detailed plans, the notice said.

Last year, China had 18.91 million teachers at all education levels, according to the Ministry of Education.

In 2023, 78 percent of primary school teachers and 93 percent of middle school teachers held bachelor's degrees or higher, said Li Yongzhi, president of the China National Academy of Educational Sciences.

The central leadership has attached great importance to teacher training and has repeatedly stressed the need to improve teacher quality, he said.

China has 226 teacher training universities and nearly 600 universities offering teaching degrees, Li said. A recent initiative has supported recruiting postgraduate students from top universities to teach in primary and secondary schools.

Teacher salaries have steadily improved, and the goal of ensuring that primary and middle school teachers receive pay no lower than that of local government officials has been largely achieved, he said.

The central government has invested tens of billions of yuan in improving the working and living conditions of rural teachers in less-developed regions, he added.

University faculty members have also become a major force in high-tech innovation. More than 40 percent of academicians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and nearly 70 percent of recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, are employed at higher education institutions, Li said.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn