Shanghai parents who want their children to learn piano will soon be able to ask tutors for government-certified qualifications.

The Shanghai Professional Testing Authority has launched the city's first government-backed qualification test for freelance piano teachers, which is hoped will shake below-standard tutors out of the booming music-teaching market.

Scheduled to begin this September, the test will require piano tutors to demonstrate teaching ability as well as solid musical theory basics and high playing skills.

Applicants will undergo a one-day test to gain either a primary, intermediate or advanced qualification.

One to three years of experience in musical education or performance is a must for those who apply for an intermediate-level qualification, the testing authority ruled.

"A major purpose for this qualification was to rule out tutors who can play but cannot teach," said Wang Tao, an authority official.

About 100,000 children in the city study piano, according to Jin Guozhong, an official from Shanghai Normal University's school of music.

Applicants for the annual piano examination for amateurs has reached 30,000 in recent years, compared with 350 people when the exam was introduced in 1988.

Music teachers, however, have no standardized qualification process.

"Few parents have the ability to measure the tutor's expertise," said Jin. "Most of them employ through the recommendations of others."

Applications for the qualification test will open on July 31.

(Shanghai Daily July 4, 2006)