China’s population has seen negative growth for four consecutive years

With the sharp decline in the number of births in China, teacher recruitment plans in many regions have been scaled back in recent years. Recently, contract teachers in districts such as Huangpu, Haizhu, Panyu, and Huadu in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, have taken to social media to complain about being dismissed by their schools—with some school authorities explicitly citing a “decline in the student population” as the reason—sparking widespread concern