With this September 10th marking the 22nd annual Teacher's Festival in China, some scholars are suggesting that the day to commemorate educators be changed to September 28th, Confucius' birthday.
The Education Ministry spokesman announced yesterday that the Ministry has taken note of the suggestion, but no further discussions have yet been held.

The spokesman said the Ministry must research the suggestion and its possible effects before any conclusion is made, and that the National People's Congress has the final say. He says, since teacher's day has been falling on September 10th for over 20 years now, it should not be changed at random.

In this year's CPPCC, some deputies already made the proposal for the day-change, noting that UNESCO's World Teacher's Day, as well as Teacher's Day in California, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hongkong are all set on September 28th. Since Confucius is China's biggest cultural symbol, setting Teachers' Day on his birthday demonstrates the respect China pays to the ancient Chinese philosopher in addition to enriching the festival with cultural meaning.

Some experts also think that since September 10th is the beginning of the fall semester, celebrating Teacher's Day on the 28th will interfere less with teacher's normal work.

But many teachers object. One professor from Beijing Normal University says festivals are just to show people's good will. S/he says the day should be stable, noting that the most important thing from a teacher's point of view is not what day the festival falls on, but that it signals educators to be respected by all of society.