China plans to hire 100,000 retired teachers in the next three years to teach in schools and universities, according to a new plan.

The "silver teacher plan", launched in 2018, has already seen more than 20,000 retired teachers hired to teach in primary and secondary schools and universities in western and less developed regions.

The new plan, issued by the Ministry of Education and ten other departments on Wednesday, said the number of "silver teachers" is expected to touch 120,000 nationwide in three years.

"Silver teachers" in primary and secondary school are entitled to an annual bonus of 20,000 yuan over and above their salaries while those teaching in universities can get up to 100,000 yuan as an annual payout, depending on their professional titles, the ministry said. The salary drawn at the time of retirement is the salary the teachers are paid.

According to the new plan, the teachers will mainly focus on basic education, higher education, vocational education, adult education and private education.

Retired teachers are an important human resource, and more efforts should be made to enable them to make a difference and participate in all levels of education, the plan mentioned.

Retired university teachers will mainly be allocated to help universities with potential, distinctively strong disciplines and new universities in ethnic regions.

Meanwhile, for "silver teachers" who plan to teach in primary and secondary schools, they would be encouraged to teach in once-impoverished regions, underdeveloped counties and border counties. The teachers would be mainly retired principals or those holding senior teaching titles.

An official with the ministry's department of teacher education said that the number of senior people is expected to exceed 300 million in China by 2025 and thus the number of retired teachers will also increase during the period.

The latest plan envisages fully harnessing the potential of this resource and contribute toward the development of young teachers and students, the official said.

Sun Xinchun, 70, a retired teacher from Xiamen University, signed up for the plan in 2021 to teach at Kashi University in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

He teaches modern Chinese to two classes of students majoring in the Chinese language. His classes are always fruitful, as students learn about special characters, phrases and expressions.

Sun has visited many places in Kashgar to conduct research on local languages and find ways to further promote the use of Mandarin in southern Xinjiang, he said.

As he was the dean of the School of Humanities and Journalism in Xiamen University's Tan Kah Kee College, he has also arranged for teachers from Xiamen to train teachers in journalism and communication in Kashgar.

After teaching for 40 years, Wang Jie, 65, retired from a high school in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture of Gansu province in February 2018 and signed up for the plan to teach another high school in Linxia in October that year.

The high school hired him as honorary principal and he has since participated in the overall management of the school, Wang said.

"An old man knows that there is not much time left, so he works extra hard," he said. "From the first day at the high school, I have held myself to high standard to set an example for younger teachers."

He has participated in improving the quality of teaching in the school, student management, school-parent communication, training young teachers and promoting traditional Chinese culture.

He has signed up for the plan again this year, and if he can pass the selection process, he plans to continue teaching at the school, he added.