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Who teaches an English-taught MBBS in China: the rules on teachers and foreign staff

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

Under the Ministry of Education's 2007 interim standard for English-taught undergraduate medical education, Articles 24 and 25 set the rules on who teaches these programmes. Each discipline should have teachers who can teach in English, and foreign teachers may not exceed 20% of total teaching hours or more than one main course each. Article 18 requires the school to set up an English-teaching supervision group. These are rules for Chinese schools set by the Chinese Ministry of Education. They are not rules set by a home-country regulator.

This page is one part of this register's section page. It goes through the teacher provisions article by article, using the Ministry's text as the source.

The source is 来华留学生医学本科教育（英语授课）质量控制标准暂行规定 (Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students), annex 1 to 教外来〔2007〕39号, published by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The English wording below is this site's translation of the Chinese text. The article numbers are those of the Chinese text.

Teachers who can teach in English (Article 24)

Article 24 says that each discipline should have teachers who have the ability to teach in English and to teach every course in the teaching plan in English. The word used is "应" (should), so this is a standard the school should meet, not a penalty clause.

Foreign teachers (Article 24)

Article 24 sets the following conditions for foreign teachers ("外藉教师"):

Condition What Article 24 says
Teaching hours Their teaching hours may not exceed 20% of total teaching hours.
Main courses Each foreign teacher may not take more than one main course ("主干课程").
Degree or title They should hold the degree level or the corresponding professional technical title set for the discipline they teach.
Clinical courses Foreign teachers of clinical practice courses should hold a licence or a temporary licence to practise medicine in China.
Employment Their employment must comply with the relevant national rules.

The 20% limit applies to total teaching hours (总学时), and the one-course limit applies per teacher.

Review and training before teaching (Article 25)

Article 25 says the school has a strict system for reviewing teaching staff qualifications and for selecting and developing teachers. Under this system, teachers who will teach must be trained before they take up their posts. The training covers teaching ability, English level, and the school's policy for international students. The text says that teachers who pass take up their posts ("合格者上岗"), and that schools should create conditions for teachers to continue their studies.

Article 25 uses "必须" (must) for the pre-service training requirement.

The English-teaching supervision group (Article 18)

Article 18 says the school should set up a monitoring and assessment mechanism for the curriculum and a supervision mechanism for teaching quality. It also says the school should set up an English-teaching supervision group. The group's job, as Article 18 states, is to supervise the implementation of the curriculum and the progress of international students' learning. The school should make sure problems are found and solved in time.

Questions people ask

Can foreign teachers teach the whole English-taught course?

No. Article 24 limits foreign teachers' teaching hours to no more than 20% of total teaching hours. Each foreign teacher may take no more than one main course.

What qualifications must a foreign teacher hold?

Article 24 says a foreign teacher should hold the degree level or the corresponding professional technical title set for the discipline they teach. For clinical practice courses, the teacher should hold a licence or a temporary licence to practise in China.

Do teachers receive any training before they start teaching?

Article 25 says teachers must be trained before they take up their posts. The training covers teaching ability, English level, and the school's policy on international students. Teachers who pass the training take up their posts.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

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