How to improve teacher salaries?

Students of Nguyen Huu Tho High School, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City give flowers to their teacher to celebrate Vietnamese Teachers' Day - Photo: NHU HUNG

Sharing with Tuoi Tre , Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers (Ministry of Education and Training), said: According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the number of teachers quitting or changing jobs this school year has decreased by about 2,000 people compared to the same period last year, equivalent to a decrease of about 22.4%.

The Ministry's analysis also shows that the rate of teachers quitting their jobs under the age of 35 is still high. The number of teachers quitting their jobs at the preschool level is high and gradually decreases from low to high levels of education.

The new point in the proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training on teachers' salaries is to arrange the salary scale according to job positions in accordance with the characteristics of teachers' work. In addition, teachers are entitled to preferential allowances according to their profession in the education sector.

Building and submitting to the National Assembly the Law on Teachers

* There are many reasons why teachers quit their jobs. Can you share the solutions that the Ministry of Education and Training has been doing to prevent teachers from quitting their jobs?

Mr. Vu Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Teachers and Educational Managers (Ministry of Education and Training)

- To keep teachers committed to their profession and also to continue attracting talented and dedicated people to the education sector, the policy towards teachers is an issue that the ministry is very concerned about.

To reduce pressure and create a favorable working environment for teachers, the Ministry of Education and Training has consulted and issued within its authority many new documents to remove regulations that are no longer suitable and are barriers to teachers.

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training is drafting and submitting to the National Assembly for consideration and promulgation of the Law on Teachers during the 15th National Assembly term. If the Law on Teachers is passed by the National Assembly, it will be an important and complete legal corridor for the promulgation of policies on remuneration, recruitment, use and honoring of teachers, in accordance with the characteristics of the teacher's profession.

* What about teachers' salaries? This is always a matter of concern, but there are problems that prevent the desire for teachers' salaries to be the highest in the administrative career salary scale from becoming a reality?

- Resolution 27 of the Central Committee has determined: "Teachers' salaries are ranked highest in the administrative career salary scale". In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs and related ministries and branches to properly implement this spirit of Resolution 27.

The new point in the Ministry's proposal on teachers' salaries is to arrange the salary scale according to job positions in accordance with the characteristics of teachers' work. In addition, teachers are entitled to preferential allowances according to their profession in the education sector.

The Ministry also proposed that the preferential allowance by profession account for 35% of the total basic salary fund of the entire industry and be allocated to different groups suitable to the specific job and workplace...

The Ministry also proposed appropriate allowances for teachers working in remote, isolated and extremely disadvantaged areas to address the shortage of teachers. For teachers working in border and island communes, the Ministry hopes that they will receive salaries equivalent to those of armed forces working in the same area.

In addition, stemming from the desire of school staff to increase their income and stabilize their lives, the Ministry has proposed that the Ministry of Home Affairs study and supplement the allowance (25%) for this team.

* So, with the new salary calculation method, teachers will no longer receive seniority allowance?

- According to Resolution 27 of the Central Committee, teachers' salaries are paid according to their job positions and seniority allowances are abolished. This also causes certain concerns for teachers who have worked in the industry for many years.

This is a difficult problem that the Ministry of Education and Training must consider and calculate teachers' salaries when implementing the new salary policy.

Ms. Dinh Thi Bich Thuan and children of Dak Ra Pan Kindergarten, Son Long Commune, Son Tay District, Quang Ngai during class - Photo: TRAN MAI

Submit to the Government to amend Decree 116

* Why is there still a shortage of teachers nationwide, but the target for teacher training has decreased? Specifically, in the 2022-2023 school year, the target for teacher training enrollment has decreased by more than 60,000 compared to the previous school year?

- Determining teacher training targets must be based on two general criteria: the need for teachers in localities according to each level, field of study, each year, and the training capacity of teacher training institutions.

In which, the calculation of teacher demand must be for the next 3-4 years, not the present. Because newly recruited pedagogical students will have to wait 3-4 years before they can start working.

Due to the shortage of teachers, in previous years, the target for teacher training was increased and according to calculations for the next 3-4 years, there needs to be an adjustment in the direction of reduction to suit the reality at that time and also to suit the current capacity of training institutions.

* What is the progress of amending Decree 116/2020/ND-CP on supporting living activities for pedagogical students to facilitate the training and recruitment of teachers according to the ordering and bidding mechanism?

- Decree 116 has achieved certain results such as attracting students to the pedagogical sector, significantly raising the pedagogical benchmark in relation to other sectors and fields, but also revealing shortcomings and difficulties.

Specifically, the implementation of teacher training bidding is difficult due to regulations that are not suitable for the specific characteristics of teacher training.

There are contradictions between regulations related to teacher training and recruitment in localities. The responsibility of localities and the central government regarding the source of support funding is not clear, leading to students' debt of support fees.

These shortcomings are being adjusted. The Ministry of Education and Training has drafted a decree amending Decree 116, and is currently finalizing the draft according to the appraisal opinions of the Ministry of Justice to submit to the Government for promulgation in May 2024.

Hope for "marked improvement"

* Compared to the present, if the proposals of the Ministry of Education and Training are approved and when the salary plan is implemented from July 1, how will teachers' income change?

- Currently, the competent authorities are considering and deciding on the implementation of the new salary policy. Therefore, I cannot say anything more specific. However, there is a principle determined when building the new salary policy: When changing salary classification, the new salary must not be lower than the current salary.

With this principle, it is hoped that the salaries of teachers will improve significantly.

The whole country still has more than 64,000 teacher positions.

* There is a shortage of over 100,000 teachers at all levels, but many localities still cannot recruit all assigned staff. Why is this situation happening and what has the Ministry of Education and Training done to promote the solution?

- There are many reasons for this situation, including the lack of recruitment resources in some subjects such as foreign languages, information technology, technology, arts... or some remote areas; some localities have mechanically cut 10% of the staff quota or have not recruited all the assigned staff quotas.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs, as of May 31, 2023, there are still more than 64,000 unfilled teacher positions nationwide.

To overcome this situation, the Ministry of Education and Training has implemented a number of solutions: Firstly, developing and promulgating many documents regulating job positions and the number of people working in preschools and general schools as a basis for units and localities to determine the number of people working in each educational institution.

Second, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinates with the Ministry of Home Affairs to submit to competent authorities to supplement nearly 66,000 teacher positions for the 2021-2026 period; allocate staffing targets and urge localities to implement (by the 2023-2024 school year, nearly 56,000 staffing targets have been allocated to localities; more than 40,000 new teachers have been recruited).

The Ministry also advised the Prime Minister to issue a directive requiring localities to recruit teachers to ensure sufficient number of assigned positions...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cai-tien-luong-giao-vien-ra-sao-20240418235135065.htm