How hard and toxic is it?

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son once shared that preschool education is the first level of education in the national education system, playing an important role in the formation and comprehensive development of children's personalities. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the preschool teaching staff, creating all conditions for them to work with peace of mind and dedication.

The education sector has also implemented many solutions, but it seems that these efforts are not enough to "pull" 16,000 teachers from quitting their jobs in 2022, of which up to 40% are preschool teachers.

The new school year 2023-2024 is approaching, but the shortage of preschool teachers in many localities is still very stressful. Therefore, this is the force that needs the most care in terms of regimes, policies, working conditions....

Preschool teachers have to care for children with high intensity for long periods of time. Photo: Khanh Ha

Although working in an environment where “rain does not reach the face, sun does not reach the head” and there are no toxic chemicals, many people think that the job of a preschool teacher is under high pressure and has a low salary. They have to take care of young children, a job that requires patience, meticulousness, delicacy and must work for long hours and at high intensity. Preschool teachers also have to work in an environment with a lot of noise due to the hyperactivity and crying of children; exposed to a lot of waste from children, even working in an environment with a lot of bacteria and viruses, because children often get sick...

In particular, they are under high pressure for the safety and health of children. This directly affects the mental and physical health of preschool teachers.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Education and Training, the average salary of a preschool teacher in Vietnam is currently around 5 million VND/month. However, this salary depends on many factors such as seniority, professional qualifications and position.

Expressing his agreement with the proposal to consider putting preschool teachers in the group of arduous and hazardous occupations, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, analyzed: “Preschool teachers have their own characteristics compared to other levels of education. They are the ones who help children develop physically, mentally, intellectually and form their personalities in the first years of life. The situation of teachers massively resigning is because their work is not properly recognized. Putting preschool teachers in the group of hazardous occupations helps them understand that society understands and cares about their work; at the same time, there is treatment commensurate with the effort they put in, contributing to improving the quality of life of preschool teachers and helping them feel secure in their work and dedication, especially in the current context of many teachers “leaving” to find other jobs”.

There should be a special allowance regime.

The work of a preschool teacher is a noble and respected profession. If we compare or classify them into the group of toxic and arduous professions so that they can receive arduous and hazardous allowances, it seems unreasonable. Many opinions say that putting preschool teachers into the group of toxic and arduous professions will not solve the difficulties that teachers are facing. Instead, the Government needs to have policies to support preschool teachers in terms of salary, benefits and working conditions.

Expressing sympathy for preschool teachers, Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong Province, said: “Preschool teachers are in charge of a relatively difficult job. Regarding working hours, they have to go to work earlier and come home later than teachers at other levels. Preschool teachers also have a lot of pressure, they are not allowed to make any mistakes, because it will affect the health and lives of children.”

However, National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga said that the work of preschool teachers does not fit the concept of "hard" and "toxic".

“In my opinion, the work of a preschool teacher is hard work, not “heavy” work because “heavy” work mainly refers to manual labor, using a lot of strength. Besides, the working environment of a preschool teacher is not a toxic environment when compared to other occupations that are currently classified as hard and toxic...”, delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga analyzed.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong province. Photo: quochoi.vn

According to the concept, a toxic working environment is a definition that refers to workplaces with environments that adversely affect human health or an unhealthy environment that makes workers feel scared and has a long-term impact on their mental health after a long period of work. Compared to other occupations that are currently classified as toxic, preschool teachers are currently working in a relatively good environment when infrastructure conditions are being invested in.

For that reason, delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga said that the Ministry of Education and Training should review and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs to advise the Government to come up with a specific allowance regime for preschool teachers or have a way to calculate so that they can enjoy benefits.

“For example, in terms of working hours, why don't we calculate overtime for preschool teachers instead of classifying them as heavy and toxic occupations?”, the female delegate proposed.

In addition, many other opinions also believe that there are many ways to support preschool teachers to have a living wage, such as: Increasing salaries, providing good welfare regimes, building a good working environment for preschool teachers... The proposal to put preschool teachers in the group of heavy and toxic occupations is an issue that needs to be considered carefully and scientifically, based on factors such as the nature of their work, their salary and benefits, as well as the impact of putting them in this group of occupations on society.

Article and photos: TRAN HOAI - THU HA

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