5 million Chinese teachers needed abroad by 2013: Study

Updated on: Friday, July 29, 2011

With several countries including India announcing plans to make Chinese language a part of school curriculum, a study here has said that some five million teachers will be required to teach an estimated 150 million students by 2013.

The number of people who are learning Mandarin (Chinese) in major countries worldwide in recent years has grown by about 50 per cent annually, a report carried by the state-run Peoples Daily said.

Chinese has become the fastest-growing language in terms of number of learners. By the end of 2010, the number of overseas Chinese learners has risen to 100 million, the report said.

Some experts have predicted that the number will reach 150 million at the end of 2013, it said. As a result, the demand for Chinese language teachers is growing.

The shortage of the teachers is more than five million. As of now, the number of certificated teachers in China is about 10,000, the report said.

Huge market demand makes the salary level to the teachers who are teaching Chinese as a foreign language very high, it said.

China has promised to provide teachers as India last year announced plans to introduce Chinese language as part of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus.

5 million Chinese teachers needed abroad by 2013: Study

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