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By Reuters

BEIJING-China has scrapped a formal education requirement for people seeking to be certified as caregivers for the elderly in a bid to boost their numbers by 2 million and plug a supply shortage.

The issue was the second most popular topic on Chinese social media on Friday, with many welcoming relaxation rules.

Previously, those seeking certificates for aged care had to attend at least secondary school.

Children traditionally care for aging parents, but in a country that only lifted its one-child policy in 2016, the burden is heavy.

A son or daughter may end up having to care for four aging people, including a husband. Often, children also move to remote cities for work, which exacerbates the need for caregivers.

By the end of 2018, China’s population was 249 million people aged 60 and over. According to the world Bank, about a quarter of them have either physiological or cognitive impairments that require care.

In contrast, a recent official estimate puts the number of certified caregivers at 300,000.

China intends to increase this by 2 million by the end of 2022, the Ministry of civil Affairs said this week.

The Ministry of education also recently stated that each province should have one University offering specialties in nursing for the elderly.

“The main problem is supply,” said a user of the weibo social media site.

“Taking care of the old is not easy and people won’t do it if they don’t pay well.”

Caregivers in nursing homes in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai can earn up to 5,000 yuan ($700) a month, but wages are often lower in smaller cities.

Informal caregivers, often migrant workers, receive less for caring for the elderly at home.

The number of nursing homes is growing, but they are too expensive for most families and are largely perceived as riddled with abuse.

Three-quarters of older people prefer to live their days at home, official surveys show.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Lushi Zhang; Editing by Karishma Singh)

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