University to train more teachers for Shanghai
Yuan Wen, president of Shanghai Normal University, announces its new enrolment plans.
Shanghai Normal University will double its enrolment of education majors who are going to be future teachers, the university announced on Tuesday.
Yuan Wen, president of the university, said its education majors will account for 42 percent of the total enrolment of fresh students this year, compared with 20 percent last year. Next year, the ratio will rise to 50 percent, she added.
Yuan said the university has cultivated 70 percent of local school principals and teachers and sees an increasing demand for future-oriented basic educational talent in Shanghai's future development plans. It has signed cooperation agreements with the Pudong New Area and Qingpu District to cultivate teaching staff.
She said students will no longer be trained to focus on a single discipline as their future career. Instead, they will learn multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary teaching to meet the requirements of China's educational reform and the demand for innovative talent.
The university has established a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) center for more than 500 students a year to learn the cross-disciplinary teaching approach, and it will be expanded soon, said Yuan.
It has also established a platform for students to take optional classes besides their major.
Information technology, international education and innovation will also be enhanced in their studies.
