Macao's Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (EYAB) has been urging schools to reduce class sizes and to recruit more "in-house specialists" to lower teachers' stress level, local media reported Wednesday.

The Macao Post Daily quoted So Chio Fai, director of the EYAB, as saying that some 90 percent of public schools in Macao have enhanced the teacher-student ratio to cut the class sizes.

The education chief predicted that 200 to 300 more "in-house specialists" will be hired in 2007 to help teachers reduce their duties, according to the newspaper.

"We are encouraging schools to recruit specialists so that they could take care of the extra-curricular activities to take the load off teachers' work," So was cited as saying.

The government's recently-launched 15-year free education scheme and newly introduced moral education plan have triggered warns over the increased teachers' stress level.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2007)