Beijing and Shanghai end tenure

Beijing, Shanghai scrap tenure for teachers

Professor Chu Zhaohui of the National Institute of Education Sciences said that while mainlanders increasingly subscribe to a market-oriented economy in which people must compete for jobs, teacher recruitment remains a remnant of the planned economy, promising an "iron rice bowl" regardless of performance.

Chu said a review regime for schoolteachers was a major step towards fostering motivation through competition. But he also cautioned that it would work only if teachers were duly rewarded for doing a better job.