Summary of Key Points
This article proposes a solution to a series of pressing issues – a decline in the number of elementary school students, an oversupply of middle and high school teachers, and difficulties for college graduates to find employment – by leveraging the current decrease in student enrollment. The suggestion is to implement small-class teaching. This approach not only enhances the quality of education (to meet the needs of the AI era) but also addresses the surplus of teachers and reduces the pressure on college students looking for jobs. Additionally, it lowers the high costs associated with extracurricular tutoring for parents, representing a multi-faceted reform direction.
Three Troubling Realities:
1. Decreasing Number of Students, Increasing Number of Teachers, and Difficulties for College Graduates to Find Jobs
- The enrollment in elementary schools is expected to decrease by 1.55 million by 2025 (a nearly 10% reduction), which is equivalent to the closure of 22 schools each day. This trend is spreading from elementary to middle and high schools, leading to a continuous decline in the number of educational institutions.
- Although the number of elementary school teachers will decrease by 130,000 by 2025, there will still be an oversupply. In some areas, teachers are being asked to switch roles (for example, 90 teachers in Hengshan, Hunan were reassigned all at once), or a policy of "one teacher leaves, one is hired" is being implemented. Some even suggest that teaching may become one of the professions with the highest risk of unemployment.
- The number of college graduates looking for jobs in 2026, including those who have returned from studying abroad and previous years' unemployed graduates, will exceed 15 million, while there are only about 6 million available job positions, creating a gap of nearly 10 million.
The Benefits of Small-Class Teaching:
Small-class teaching offers a win-win situation for both education quality and employment:
1. Better Learning for Children: Large class sizes (with over 40 students in one room) create an environment where students in the back rows cannot hear clearly, and teachers struggle to provide individualized instruction. Small classes (around 20 students) allow teachers to focus on each student, leading to improved academic performance (up to 30% higher scores) and the development of creative thinking skills. Students are also more likely to complete high school education.
2. Helping People Find Jobs: Small-class teaching requires more teachers; what used to be one teacher for 40 students now requires two teachers. This not only helps to absorb the surplus of existing teachers but also creates job opportunities for recent graduates (such as those from teacher training programs), alleviating employment pressures.
The Right Time to Implement Small-Class Teaching:
The decline in birth rates is a long-term trend, and the number of students will continue to decrease. Instead of viewing empty classrooms and unemployed teachers as problems, this can be seen as an opportunity for reform:
- If small-class teaching was previously unfeasible due to a large number of students and a shortage of teachers, now that student numbers have decreased and there is a surplus of teachers, the time is ripe to implement this change.
- This is not a waste of resources; it's about shifting funds and effort from extracurricular tutoring back into the classroom to make education more efficient.
Don't Worry About High Costs: It's Actually Cheaper
Some argue that small-class teaching is expensive, but the current educational model is actually more costly:
- Many parents complain that schools provide basic instruction and set difficult exams, forcing them to enroll their children in tutoring classes or hire private tutors. For example, a friend mentioned that their child spent 300,000 yuan on tutoring in half a year.
- With small-class teaching, knowledge can be explained more thoroughly in the classroom, eliminating the need for additional tutoring, saving parents money and reducing the burden on students.
The Need for Small-Class Teaching in the AI Era:
AI will replace many repetitive tasks, but education requires human interaction and personalized attention. While companies aim to achieve more with fewer employees, society cannot focus solely on efficiency:
- Japan has seen successful implementation of small-class teaching due to its declining birth rate, allowing all students to reach their full potential.
- We should take advantage of the decrease in student enrollment to transform education from a mass-based system to one that is more personalized, which will not only help children grow better but also create more job opportunities for everyone.
In Conclusion:
Sometimes, using more people to do things better is a more valuable choice than trying to achieve the same result with fewer resources.