THE education authorities want local schools to devote more time and space for physical education (PE) but the schools are finding it tough to recruit teachers in the field.

　　At the largest job fair for teachers held in the city yesterday, most of the 480 participating schools had vacancies for PE teachers, but there were very few applicants. But as Shanghai Daily discovered much of that is because only a small percentage of sports graduates are keen to enter the vocation.

　　“Teaching as a career is not appealing to many graduates of sports majors because of the complicated nature of work and low pay,” said Yu Yimin, principal of Shanghai Hami Primary School which put up two positions for PE teachers yesterday.

　　“We have been trying to recruit PE teachers ever since the local educational commission started taking up specific policies. It now wants schools to offer students with more specialized education instead of general exercises like running, jumping, etc,” Yu said.

　　“But as the public become more and more aware of the importance of fitness and sports, the related industry is booming, attracting more sports graduates to join private companies or they prefer to start a businesses on their own,” Yu said.

　　An official at the educational talent serving center in Yangpu District also confirmed that there were more opportunities suddenly for PE teachers in schools because of the professionalized requirements for different sport programs such as football, basketball and volleyball.

　　Shi Jie, a Shanghai native and sports teacher at the Pudong Campus of the High School Affiliated to Fudan University, said when he graduated from the Shanghai University of Sport in 2010 there were no interesting offers for him.

　　Shi, who had a bachelor’s degree in aerobics, said he was “rejected by one school in downtown but found a position in a middle school in Baoshan District.”

　　But seeing no career prospect, he quit the job two years later.

　　“PE teachers were not only paid less but were also less respected than teachers who taught subjects like Chinese, math and English,” Shi said. “They rarely won any awards or got promotion. Looking at my colleagues who were five or 10 years older than me, I could see my future and it did not excite me.”

　　He quit and tried his hand in business while pursing a postgraduate degree in the university. But as the venture went bust, he went back to the school “for stability.” He was lucky to find a job in a new school which opened in 2013.

　　He was given the added responsibility of looking after promotions.

　　“With the new emphasis by the administration, the future looks bright for sports graduates,” he said. “Here, I am paid the same per hour of class as other teachers.”

　　But not everyone is as lucky as Shi is.

　　“In some old schools, things haven’t changed much,” Shi pointed out. “Maybe that is why they are all struggling to recruit PE teachers.”

　　“Many of the undergraduates prefer to work as PE teachers,” Shi said. “Postgraduates have more choices such as gymnasium coaches, outdoor sports instructors, sports goods salesmen and sports event organizers, which get the more pay.”

　　Some of the suburban districts are improving employment benefits to attract more teachers to compete with downtown and more prestigious schools.

　　Baoshan District quickly followed in the footsteps of Jiading, Qingpu and Fengxian districts by offering 2,000 yuan (US$315)per month housing subsidies.