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HCMC is developing policy to support teachers in primary schools |
Many people are wondering whether the income increase can attract good students to enroll in pedagogy schools and retain them.
Regarding the income of primary school teachers, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Le Hoai Nam said, based on the Ministry of Education and Training’s circular 02/2021/TT-BGDDT Article 8 dated February 2, 2021, on the standards of professional titles and salary levels of teaching staff in public primary schools, the starting salary coefficient of newly graduated teachers is 1.86. thus, after deducting the social insurance premium, in the first year of work, each teacher has an income of more than VND3.3 million a month, much lower than the average cost of living per capita in Ho Chi Minh City of VND11.4 million monthly.
Currently, the Education Law stipulates primary schools are not allowed to collect fees, but the budget for this level of education is equal to that of other levels. In particular, in the 2018 General Education Program, primary schools have to teach two shifts a day, so schools can’t charge for the second shift whereas previously, the old program taught one shift a day, so schools could charge a fee for the second shift. This new regulation has generated more difficulties for schools, indirectly affecting the income of teachers.
Teacher Pham Huu Phuc, Principal of Tran Khanh Du Primary School in District 1, disclosed that many teachers are recruited annually but they quit because they opted for a private school with higher income. In particular, schools are short of teachers of English and Informatics subjects every year, but very few English and Informatics graduates from pedagogy schools have applied for the sector's recruitment, so the school has to manage by itself by signing a contract with a visiting teacher.
Mr. Trinh Vinh Thanh, Head of Go Vap District's Department of Education and Training, added that propose a plan to add staffing to reduce the workload for primary school teachers or build more schools to reduce the number of students/classes, reduce the workload for teachers, but the fact of the matter is that some localities lack land fund to build schools or localities with a limited public budget that they hardly compensate for site clearance.
Therefore, a representative of the Go Vap District Department of Education and Training said that income increase is still a fundamental measure to retain teachers. This teacher suggested that Ho Chi Minh City continue to maintain the Resolution 03/2018/NQ-HDND on spending extra income for civil servants and public employees in the state management sector and public non-business units. In addition, in order to attract good students into pedagogy schools, according to educationists and managers, there should be more affordable housing policies for teachers, especially in suburban areas, to help teachers settle down and be dedicated to the profession.
In the long term, Director of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Department of Teachers and Educational Administrators Vu Minh Duc said that the Ministry is developing and submitting to the National Assembly for the promulgation of the Law on Teachers to create a legal corridor for the formulation and promulgation of policies and laws on recruitment of teachers.
At the same time, the education sector will allow qualified public preschools and general education institutions to be financially autonomous. Furthermore, policymakers will have pilot policies to encourage individuals and businesses to invest in private schools to reduce pressure on the public school system and reduce teaching staff on public payrolls.
According to statistics of the Ministry of Education and Training, from now until the school year 2024-2025, roughly 6,621 more informatics teachers and 5,780 foreign language teachers must be recruited to implement the 2018 General Education Program at the primary level. In order to have more teachers to meet the teaching requirements of the new program, localities need to work with universities to train new teachers of English and Informatics.
According to Mr. Huynh Cong Minh, former Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the government should increase investment in education.
The country in general and the education sector, in particular, have been changing a lot compared to the previous period. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City is the country's economic hub; therefore, students should have specific qualities and capacities that can contribute to the city's growth. On that basis, the education sector develops plans for specific programs, calculating how many teachers should be trained in the next 10-20 years. In that general development strategy, calling for social contribution to the education sector will be a breakthrough solution for the expansion of schools.
