Students have a class in a prefabricated classroom in Guanting Town, Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, March 1, 2024. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chongqing - China will recruit 7,000 retired teachers this year to serve primary and lower secondary schools, according to a recent statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.

This action is a part of a continuous effort to support China's rural education, which is called the Silver-Age Teaching Program. Eligible applicants are retired principals, teaching research staff, and experienced teachers aged 65 or below, who are generally required to hold at least a mid-level teaching title, and will be assigned to schools with limited educational resources, such as schools in rural areas.

The program will leverage outstanding retired educators in these compulsory education schools to provide guidance and share expertise through various forms, including serving as vice principals to support school management, classroom teaching, mentoring young teachers, conducting open classes, and assisting with teaching management and research.

Applicants will retain their retirement benefits and also receive a monthly subsidy, travel expenses, and insurance costs. For compulsory education schools, the annual funding standard is set at 20,000 yuan (about 2,802.98 U.S. Dollars) per person, jointly borne by central and local governments.

A national program similar to the Silver-Age Teaching Program, which recruits retired teachers for rural compulsory education schools, has been in place for many years. China conducted its first recruitment in 2018 and launched a similar program for universities in 2020.

China has been issuing the Silver-Age Teaching Program since 2018 and began implementing it in 2020. According to the 2025 plan, the top three provinces by the number of retired teachers recruited are Guangxi, Hubei, and Xinjiang, with 1,470, 1,225, and 500 individuals, respectively, accounting for approximately 45.6% of the total. 

The 12 western provinces, generally considered less developed, have a recruitment volume roughly on par with the remaining provinces and municipalities, totaling 3,625 individuals, about 51.8% of the total. Chongqing plans to recruit 90 retired teachers in 2025, which is not a big number.

According to CCTV, Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, explained that the national rollout of the Silver-Age Teacher Program is based on two key considerations. First, many outstanding retired teachers under 65 remain energetic and fully capable of taking on teaching and administrative responsibilities. Second, schools in less developed areas often struggle to attract top educators and face structural teacher shortages, particularly in subjects like science and art. Bringing in silver-age teachers, he noted, offers a “win-win solution.”

Teaching, known for its vacation time and job stability, has become a highly popular profession in China, facing intense competition in economically developed urban areas. Media reports indicate that in Shenzhen, a first-tier city of China, over 40% of teachers hired in 2020 held doctoral degrees, including applicants from world-renowned institutions such as the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

At the same time, the teacher gap in rural areas remains pronounced. For example, in Guangxi, publicly available data shows that the region has around 149,100 rural teachers—the highest number among western ethnic minority provinces—but it also suffers from the most acute shortfall. Limited career development opportunities, challenging working conditions, and lower salaries have long made it difficult for rural schools to attract and retain qualified teachers.