Ms. Van Thi Bach Tuyet, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City's National Assembly deputies delegation at the meeting
This afternoon, the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly deputies delegation led by Ms. Van Thi Bach Tuyet, Deputy Head of the delegation, had a working session with Thu Duc City People's Committee on supervising the implementation of the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 88/ 2014 and Resolution No. 51/2017 on the renovation of general education curricula and textbooks in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Van Thi Bach Tuyet said that the renovation of programs and textbooks is an issue that has attracted great public attention.
Recently, the National Assembly Standing Committee approved a thematic plan to monitor the implementation of renovation of general education curricula and textbooks nationwide from now until the end of 2023.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Thu Duc City, said that eye-catching textbooks in the 2018 General Education Program all have beautiful images and designs.
However, the cost of a set of books is quite high; the cost of books can be a burden for students from low-income households especially families with many children studying new programs and difficult families with unstable incomes.
Regarding the issue of facilities, Mr. Hoang Tung, Chairman of Thu Duc City People's Committee, said that school facilities can’t meet students’ learning needs in some areas, especially in densely populated areas bordering the Southern Province of Binh Duong despite local authorities’ efforts to build more schools but it can’t pace with the local population growth rate.
Specifically, the city lacks 188 classrooms in primary schools, and 47 classrooms in junior high schools; therefore, students can’t learn two shifts a day.
Worse, many schools still lack teachers in the subjects of music, fine arts, physical education, English, and informatics. For example, Principal Nguyen Thi Hong An of Hiep Phu Secondary School said that every year, the school plans to recruit teachers for state payroll, but it failed to employ teachers as per its quota.
Elsewhere in the city, Hiep Phu Secondary School currently lacks teachers in English, art, natural sciences, literature and physical education.
In order to solve the problem of teacher shortage in the short -term, schools contacted other schools in the city to select a team of teachers who have been trained in the General Education Program 2018 to work as visiting teachers.
Particularly for integrated subjects in grades 6 and 7, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong An said that the shortage of teachers makes it difficult to implement the subjects. Similarly, Principal Pham Thi Muoi of Linh Dong Primary School informed that the school still lacks 6 teachers in the subjects of English, informatics, physical education, music and fine arts.
In order to ensure and improve the quality of education, the school contracted visiting teachers for missing positions but could not find visiting teachers who work on contracts.
Every year, many teachers quit their jobs whereas schools lack teachers for special subjects.
Hence, Principal Pham Thi Muoi mentioned staff retention which is raising many concerns in the context of teachers' limited income. She proposed the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City and People's Committees at all levels to raise teachers’ income in order to attract teachers who are enthusiastic, and committed to the profession, and attract young graduates to apply for public servants in the education sector, especially teachers of English and informatics.
