Presenting the report incorporating the opinions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, along with the preliminary assessments from various committees regarding the draft Law on Educators at the meeting held by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly this morning, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son stated that the dossier for the draft law has been supplemented.
Accordingly, teachers working in institutions within the national education system, irrespective of whether they work in public or private institutions, and regardless of whether they are Vietnamese or foreign nationals.
The Law on Educators pertains to the regulation and application scope, specifically addressing teachers who are employed full-time in institutions that are part of the national education system, both public and private sectors. Moreover, the law includes both Vietnamese nationals and foreign educators.
Based on this framework, in addition to general provisions, the policies in the draft law are revised to include specific policy measures tailored to different groups such as teachers at public schools according to both civil servant regulations and additional provisions, non-public school teachers, and foreign teachers as per the Labor Code and separate regulations.
Mentioning the regulations concerning teacher evaluation, the Minister clearly pointed out that the draft has been amended in response to the feedback from the National Assembly's Standing Committee. The revisions focus on establishing specific guidelines for the periodic evaluation of teachers, which will now align with the academic year rather than the administrative year. The evaluation criteria will be based on the professional standards set for educators.
Furthermore, the classification process, procedures, and standards for teachers will adhere to the civil servant law for public educators and the labor law along with institutional regulations for private educators.
In terms of policies affecting teachers, the head of the education and training sector confirmed that the Government has excluded certain policy elements from the draft as there have been diverse opinions. These elements include regulations related to the application of the law governing teachers, the professional social organization of teachers, and the standards for leaders of educational institutions.
The proposed legislation must create an equitable framework of regulations and policies for educators in both the public and private sectors to achieve the goal of increasing societal contributions to the education system.
Chairman of the NA Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung
Some policy contents like regulations on salary policies, allowances, and support for teachers were carefully reviewed to ensure both breakthroughs and suitability when the government has salary reform in the coming time.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh pointed out that while this draft has addressed many uncertain points from the previous draft concerning the Law on Civil Servants and the Law on Military Officers, it also contains some rigid regulations that do not align with the goal of improving conditions for teachers, such as the regulations on job transfers.
Expressing concern that information about several cases affecting the reputation and image of teachers has gone viral, Head of the National Assembly Committee for Deputy Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hai suggested that the agency which is responsible for drafting the new law focus on supplementing and perfecting regulations on teachers' ethics.
While the law does include provisions for teachers, they are still insufficient and incomplete, Ms. Hai stated. Teachers have historically held a respected status in society, despite their modest financial condition. Therefore, it is impossible to blame financial hardships or low incomes for unethical behavior or violations of the law amongst teachers.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also said that the draft law should not be spread out but should only focus on a number of key policies.
